

THE COAL TITMOUSE, in 



it pull small earthworms to pieces and devour 

 them." 



Like other members of the genus Parus, the 

 Coal Titmouse usually builds in a hole of some 

 decayed stump on or near the ground, sometimes on 

 the ground itself; very rarely it has been detected 

 making its nest externally on the bough of a tree. 

 One such instance has been recorded in The Zoologist 

 for 1864 (p. 7444) by our friend Mr. Bond, who 

 found a nest of this bird on the branch of a fir tree, 

 close to the bole. He describes it as very like that 

 of a Long-tailed Titmouse, but much rounder. 



When built in a hole the materials and construc- 

 tion of the nest are very similar to those of other 

 Tits, already described, as also are the eggs in 

 colour, although an experienced eye may detect 

 characteristic differences in the size and distribution 

 of the markings. Certain it is, however, that the 

 eggs of the Coal Tit so closely resemble those of 

 the Marsh Tit that we should place no value on 

 specimens of either, unless the parent bird had been 

 seen and identified by a competent observer. 



