TITS AND WRENS 41 



The whole question as to how birds 

 recognize one another is very interesting. 

 We know that a shepherd can tell one sheep 

 of his flock from another as easily as we can 

 distinguish between two men, but in the 

 feathered face of a bird there seems to us so 

 little room for difference of expression, and, 

 generally speaking, if we take feather by 

 feather the description of one bird will apply 

 equally well to any other of the same species. 



Tom-tits as a rule make way for a great- 

 tit, but I have seen them fight occasionally, 

 and the torn-tit does not always come off 

 second-best. They are complete masters of 

 both marsh and coal-tits, neither of which 

 dream of resisting them. They pay scarcely 

 any heed one way or another to sparrows or 

 robins. 



Both torn-tits and great-tits in the flush of 

 their spring-time ardour pay to their chosen 

 helpmates the same delicate attentions as do 

 robins. It is always a pretty picture to see 

 them present their offerings of food, but with 

 tits it seems a rather more business-like 

 matter and to lack something of the tender 

 sentiment so plainly shown by the robins. 



Though not nearly so plentiful as torn-tits, 

 both marsh and coal-tits are with us more or 

 less all the year round. Of the two, perhaps 

 the marsh-tit is the more regular, sometimes 

 a pair seem to make the garden their head- 

 quarters and to be always about, but several 



