TAPPING TIT 125 



between them and the old habitues of the window- 

 sill ; and I think I can trace in some of them a 

 growing perception of my countenance, as distin- 

 guished from my dress and general appearance. 

 This, however, may be fancy, except in the case 

 of the robins. It is the privilege of Bob to under- 

 stand the human eye and gesture, to say nothing 

 of the voice, the tone of which all animals under- 

 stand more or less. 



I had a tapping torn-tit till lately, but alas ! it 

 has vanished. It used to come and press its little 

 yellow-green bosom against the bottom of the 

 glass of the window, holding on with difficulty by 

 the woodwork, and peck gently and look all about 

 in the room for me till I went to feed it, when it 

 would take up a waiting position on the very tip- 

 top of the highest rose-twig it could find, and 

 then let all the others feed before it came itself. 

 It seemed as if it tapped for the good of the com- 

 munity ; strange to say, though they seemed glad 

 to have the service performed for them, they never 

 tried to do it themselves. 



After being nearly all day at the window, the 

 little tapper vanished suddenly, and I fear will not 

 return now, and the birds find it difficult to make 

 their presence known. One torn-tit has taken to 

 turning over the fragment of a broken water-colour 

 palette on which I put their food : he does it very 



