86 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 



seed of the sunflower^ as well as of maize and oats^ as are all 

 the true Parid(B which are found in this country. 



Its note in spring is very variable^ at one time resembling 

 the sharpening of a saw, while at another it may be ex- 

 pressed by the three words " Set your beans/^ with a stress 

 on the first word. It builds sometimes in a hole in the 

 ground or close to it, in a stub* of underwood, or a hole in 

 a tree or wall. I have frequently seen it in the cistern of 

 an unused pump, or in a flower-pot, in one of which, in a 

 very open place, seven young birds were found perfectly 

 dead from the heat of the sun. When building in such 

 situations, it covers the whole of the base with a mass of 

 hair, wool, worsted, &c. felted together, and generally forms 

 the nest in one corner awav from the centre. 



BLUE TITMOUSE. 

 Parus coenileus. 



The Blue Titmouse is the commonest of the genus, fre- 

 quenting all parts, except the open heights, or the marshy 

 levels. It is very familiar and very bold, though not par- 

 ticularly pugnacious. It will, however, hiss violently should 

 a finger or stick be introduced into its nesting-place. If 

 handled, it bites with such ferocity that, among the bird- 

 nesting boys, it has obtained the elegant title of " Billy 

 Biter.^^ Its nest is placed in similar situations to that of 

 the Great Titmouse. There has been more than one in- 

 stance of its choosing a letter-box for this purpose. Mr. 

 Booth mentions that a pair had for several years made use 



* Stuh signifies in Sussex an old stump, which has been often cut 

 down, from which many new shoots have arisen. 



