194 



Nest. This is generally placed in a hole of a tree or wall, and the 



opening is as a rule much smaller than that of P. major, while the 

 height from the ground is very variable. In one or two cases this bird 

 has been known to breed in a hole in a bank or gravel pit {Zool. 1874, 

 p. 4034, 1879, p. 219, etc.). At other times it nests in any suitable 

 hole or cranny in pumps, letter boxes, old water cans, railings, gate 

 posts, street lamps (where I have seen the old birds feeding their young 

 within an inch or so from the gas jet), or inverted flower pots, and even 

 in the crown of a cabbage plant {Zool. 1875, p. 4291). An empty 

 earthenware bottle is known to have been occupied almost annually 

 for nearly 100 years (Yarrell, ed. Newton, I, p. 486). Near Ludlow a 

 nest was found in a fire hydrant in the ground in 1900: Ussher describes 

 another in a human skull in the wall of a ruined church; and a third 

 was placed in the body of a dead Redwing in an apple tree (Birds of 

 Devon, p. 35). Several instances in which the nest has been built within 

 that of some other species are on record: it is known to have built an 

 open nest in that of a Blackbird at least three times, three times in old 

 Thrushes' nests, once in a Greenfinch's nest, and twice if not more, in 

 Hedgesparrows' nests, in each case inserting a new lining of wool, 

 hair, etc. G. D. Rowley also records an open nest on the bough of a 

 fir tree (Orn. Misc. I, p. 73). Old holes of the Pied Flycatcher are 

 also sometimes occupied, and this species has been known to breed in 

 the foundation of an occupied Rook's nest {Zool. 1876, p. 4749). The 

 size of the nest of course depends much on the capacity of the hole. 

 The foundation consists chiefly of moss and dead grass, lined with wool 

 and hair in varying proportions, and almost always many feathers. The 

 eggs are generally covered up before incubation begins. 

 Eggs. The number of eggs laid is very variable. The usual number is 



from 7 or 8 to 12, but occasionally much larger numbers are met with. 

 Three birds have been observed in attendance at one nest (as in the 

 case of the Long tailed Tit), and there is little doubt that the exception- 

 ally large clutches, from 17 to 20 and even 24 in number (Nelson, 

 Birds of TorksJiire, p. 113), are the produce of two hens. In colour 

 they are white, with little or no gloss, occasionally quite unmarked, but 

 usually finely spotted or speckled with light chesnut brown. The markings 

 show a distinct tendency to form a zone or cap at the big end. 

 n o, As with the Great Tit only one brood is reared as a rule, and the 



SeaBon. first cggs arc laid at the end of April in the south, or during the first 

 fortnight of May in the Midlands, while it is rare to meet with fresh 

 eggs after the beginning of June. I have never known an instance of 

 two broods being roared by one pair of birds, but as this does occasion- 

 ally happen in the case of the Great Tit, it is possible that Dixon's 



