THE BEARDED TITMOUSE. 



309 



It is a small bird, 



and the under surface of the ■wings and tail is a delicate pearly grey, 

 the total length being only four inches and a half. 



Another British Titmouse is the Cole Titmouse {Parus ater), so called on account 

 of the dark colouring of its plumage. 



It is a tolerably common liird throughout England as well as in Ireland and Scotland. 

 In its habits it is not unlike the Long-tailed Titmouse, being ever restlessly in motion, and 

 constantly running up and down the branches of trees and bushes in search of its insect 

 prey. It is not quite so fearless of man as 

 some of the allied species, and is found in 

 small woods, hedgerows, and copses, rather 

 than in gardens and orchards, so that it 

 frequently escapes the notice of a casual 

 observer. The nest of this species is usually 

 placed above the ground, and is built in some 

 sequestered and sheltered situation, such as 

 the hole of a tree or a wall, the hollow of 

 gnarled or projecting roots, or in the midst 

 of some very thick and shrubby bush. It 

 is composed of moss and wool, and lined 

 with hair. The eggs are generally about 

 seven or eight in number, and are of a pure 

 white, mottled with pale reddish spots. 



The voice of the Cole Titmouse is rather 

 peculiar, and is well described by Mudie in 

 his "British Birds:"— "The song of the 

 Cole Tit is not indeed one of many notes, or 

 of mellifluous inflexions ; it is little else than 

 the same note repeated four or five times, 

 but with so much variety of pitch and tune 

 as to form a sort of cadence which would 

 make a good variety anywhere, as it is shrill 

 and clear, and one which is particularly 

 welcome and cheering in those mountain 

 woods which the summer warlilers but rarely 

 visit. The bird sings in the noontide heat, 

 when most birds, and especially those on the 

 open wastes, with which the haunts of this 

 species are usually interspersed, are silent." 



The Cole Titmouse is coloured as follows : 

 The head, chin, throat, ear-coverts, and parts 

 of the sides of the neck are deep black, and 

 the cheeks, sides of the neck, and a patch 

 upon the nape are white. The back is bluish- 

 grey, and the wings are brownish-grey with 

 a little green on some of the feathers, and 

 two narrow bars of white across the tips of 



the coverts. The breast is greyish white, and the abdomen is pale fawn washed with 

 a slight tinge of green. The total length of the Cole Titmouse measures about four 

 inches and a half 



The Marsh Titmouse is another British species, and may be distinguished from the 

 preceding species, to which it bears a considerable resemblance, by the absence of the 

 black patch upon the throat and the white spot on the nape of the neck. It derives its 

 popular name from its marsh-loving habits, as it is generally to be found near the water 

 meadows and the low-lying banks, hopping about the osiers and willows, or seeking its 

 food in the swampy grounds. 



BE.\RDED TITMOUSE.— ParoMra Marmlcm. 



