THE HEDGE-SPARROW 31 



the minute eggs of the Bryobia and Tetranychus or red spider 

 upon the ivy and lime, or upon the stems and branches of sloes, bul- 

 laces, damson trees and gooseberry bushes, varying its diet with 

 woodbine berries and thistle seeds. Of cole and other tits 

 picking out the buds of trees and shrubs we have no experience, 

 and where this does occur it is certain the buds swarm with larvae 

 of aphides, chermes, winter moth, apple-blossom weevil, and 

 other pests according to species of insect infecting the various buds. 



The MARSH TITMOUSE (Parus palustris) is not so common as 

 the cole-tit, and though semi-gregarious and frequenting marshy 

 ground, osier-beds, and groves near rivers, may occasionally be 

 seen in orchards and gardens. It is slightly smaller than the cole- 

 tit, head bluish-black, sides of neck white, upper part of body olive- 

 brown of various shades, and under part light brown. It builds 

 its nest similar to the cole-tit in holes in stumps of trees and in 

 holes in the ground. It is insectivorous, feeding upon insects, 

 their eggs, larvae, and pupae, and has been seen to feed the young 

 twenty times in an hour with caterpillars. The adults are 

 partial to the seeds of the thistle. 



The CRESTED TITMOUSE (Parus cristatus) is notable for the crest 

 of feathers borne on the head, and its rarity in Britain. The food 

 consists of insects and weed seeds. The Bearded Titmouse (Parus 

 biarmiciis) inhabits the neighbourhood of rivers and lakes, feeding 

 upon insects and Mollusca, also seeds of grasses and sedges. The 

 " beard " is a tuft of black feathers depending from the sides of 

 the head. It is comparatively rare in England. 



The HEDGE ACCENTOR or HEDGE-SPARROW (Accentor modu- 

 laris), Fig. 27, sometimes called the Hedge-warbler, belongs to the 



/" ; ~ 



FIG. 27. THE HEDGE-SPARROW OR ACCENTOR. 



family of the Sylviadae, and is found over the British Islands. 

 The length of the bird is rather more than 5j in., and the plum- 

 age, liable to vary in colour, is generally of a reddish brown, streaked 

 with dark brown : the song of the male is short and plaintive, and, 

 though sweet in tone, deficient in variety and power. 



