1 624 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



have often been astonished to see how soon a large piece of suet is demolished by 

 these little birds. Often two or three may be seen clinging to the same piece, peck- 

 ing at it vigorously, evidently enjoying the good fare prepared for them. 

 When hunting after insects, etc. , in trees, they appear to examine every part most 

 carefully, moving along and round the branches, now clinging head downward, now 

 moving along the limbs of the tree almost like a creeper, or clinging to the end of 

 a small branch, examining carefully a bud to see if any insect is harbored therein. 

 This is done in a most business-like, quiet manner, and only now and then a low 

 call, ze, is uttered; but when taking a short flight from tree to tree or bush to bush, 

 they utter their cheerful loud note." The great tit has a variety of notes, some of 

 which are harsh and unmelodious; its song being inconsiderable but characteristic. 

 Building early in spring, it places its nest in a variety of situations, one having been 

 found in the roots of an elm tree, quite a foot below the ground. Most nests are, 

 however, placed in holes in trees, sometimes in the deserted nest of a hornet, and 

 some have been found in garden pumps, flowerpots, and other unlikely situations. 

 Probably one of the most extraordinary nests ever discovered was found in a rough 

 corner cupboard, fixed at one end of an old shepherd's house, erected in a plantation 

 for the use of the gamekeeper. In the centre of the cupboard was a single shelf, 

 and the door being kept shut, the pair of tits could only obtain access through a 

 small hole in the woodwork above; but through this opening the large amount of 

 material employed in the construction of the nest must have been introduced. The 

 eggs of the great tit are pure white, blotched with bright red; the bird frequently 

 rearing two broods in the same nesting hole in the course of the summer. The adult 

 male has the crown of the head and the sides of the neck and throat glossy black, 

 and the sides of the face white; the back is yellowish green; the lower part of the 

 back and upper tail coverts is slaty gray, as are the wings and tail; while the under 

 parts are bright yellow, with a black median stripe. 



An inhabitant of the fir woods of Central and Northern Europe, 



the coal tit (P. ater) breeds early in the year, generally in a hole 

 in the wall or chink in some rotten tree stump; the nest being lined with fine roots, 

 moss, hair, and feathers. The eggs are white, spotted and blotched with red; and 

 a nest of this species was once found in the burrow of a sand martin. The 

 British form of the coal tit is regarded by some ornithologists as distinct from 

 the Continental race, inasmuch as it has the back of an olive brown, whereas the 

 back of the Continental bird is slaty blue. Nevertheless some specimens of coal 

 tit obtained in the north of Scotland are intermediate between the British and 

 Continental forms; while the habits of both appear to be precisely identical. The 

 coal tit is an inquisitive bird, and we have known one voluntarily enter an empty 

 mouse trap, apparently tempted only by curiosity. The adult male has the crown 

 black; a distinct white patch adorns the nape; the sides of the head are pure white, 

 the upper parts slaty blue, the throat black, the centre of the body whitish, and the 

 flanks buff. 



Generally frequenting gardens, orchards, and woods near swampy 



ground, the marsh tit {P. palustris} displays a marked partiality for 

 rabbits' fur as a nesting material, some nests being almost entirely composed of it. 



