24 OUR RESIDENT BIRDS 



brown ; neck, upper breast, and scapulars bluish grey. 

 Back and wings reddish brown, streaked with dark 

 brown. Lores brown. Breast and belly buffish white, 

 flanks with dark streaks. Bill brown. Legs yellowish 

 brown. Length 5| in. Female has crown and flanks 

 more distinctly streaked. Young, no grey on head or 

 throat, and are browner and more spotted. 



Language. Song, a cheerful little performance, uttered 

 in a rambling, hurried way. Call-note much like the 

 Robin's a short squeak. 



Habits. Fond of creeping about the bottom of a 

 hedgerow. On the ground it both runs and hops, 

 shuffling its wings as well (hence Shufflewing). Flight 

 hesitating. 



Food. Insects, beetles, spiders, worms; also seeds. 



Nest. March onwards. Often three broods. 



Site. In hawthorn hedge, furze bush, evergreens, ivy, 

 piles of faggots, &c. 



Materials. Dry grass, roots, small twigs, moss and 

 wool, lined with hair, W 7 ool and a few feathers. 



Eggs. Four to six. Uniform turquoise-blue. 



MARSH TITMOUSE (Parus palustris). 



Less common than Coal Tit. Rarer in Scotland and 

 Ireland. Not by any means confined to marshy places, 

 as its name implies. 



Haunts. Woods, orchards, gardens, &c. 



Plumage. Very like Coal Tit, but differs in having a 

 black head and no white nape spot. Head, nape, and 

 chin black ; upper parts greyish brown. Wings darker. 

 Cheeks and throat ashy white ; under parts white, 

 suffused with buffish. Bill black ; legs lead-colour. 

 Length 4^ in. Female similar. Young browner on 

 upper parts. 



Language. Its chief note is " chick-a-dee." It also 

 has other notes much like the other Tits. 



