Titmice. 101 



kept in a cage by itself, which used to empty the seed- 

 box, and put the seed in a heap in the corner, and 

 cover it over. Being left without seed for a day or two, 

 he was obliged to have recourse to his store, but he 

 ate very sparingly of it, and carefully covered it over 

 again, eating no more in three days than he generally 

 did in one. This Tit is found in most parts of Great 

 Britain (a pair built a nest last year in an old unused 

 pump, in a garden in Middlesex, going up the curved 

 handle to their young) : it often consorts with Gold- 

 crests and Crested Tits, in flocks in the pine forests, 

 eating insects and their eggs and larvse, and the seeds 

 of the pine and fir -trees, and concealing a stock of 

 these under the rough bark for a time of need. It must 

 be fed on Nightingale's paste, seeds, insects, and ants' 

 eggs ; but it is a delicate bird, and often suffers from 

 unnatural food. 



The MARSH TIT and BEARDED TIT would require 

 much the same treatment if kept in confinement, but 

 they are not common birds in England, excepting in 

 the low swamps and marshes where there are old 

 willows and alders. The CRESTED TIT is still more 

 rare, inhabiting the pine forests in the north of Europe, 

 bu. occasionally breeding in Scotland. It is a very 

 pretty bird, with a pointed crest of black feathers edged 

 with white ; but very delicate, and not easily tamed, 

 unless when taken young, when it must be fed on 

 chopped mealworms and ants' eggs. 



