GREAT TIT. 105 



The Great Tit, though larger than the other members 

 of the family, is only about the size of a Sparrow, and is 

 a very common bird in Ireland. It is usually called in 

 this country the Blackcap a name also given to the 

 Reed Bunting and the Stonechat, as well as to the 

 Blackcap Warbler. It is often confounded with the 

 smaller Coal Tit, from which, however, it should readily 

 be distinguished, not only by its superior size, but by 

 the black markings which descend in Parus major down 

 the breast and belly, whereas in the Coal Tit the head 

 alone is black, and besides there is a white patch on the 

 back of the head, which is very conspicuous to the 

 observer. 



The Great Tit is a bold and gallant bird, and his stout 

 beak and strong claws render him a formidable adver- 

 sary to much larger birds than himself. The story that 

 he attacks little birds, splits their skulls, and feeds upon 

 their brains, always seemed to me to need confirmation ; 

 but Mr. Johns tells a sad tale of a Great Tit, which in 

 a well-filled aviary killed every occupant, with the excep- 

 tion of a Quail, which he was just about to kill when he 

 was interrupted in his work of wholesale butchery. 



Like the other Tits, this bird generally builds in holes 

 in walls or in trees, from which also it has been known 

 to suspend a nest woven from the branches and domed ; 

 but occasionally it utilizes an old pump, or the deserted 

 nest of a magpie. It is said also to build among the 

 crevices of the sticks of the Rook's nest, and live there on 

 amicable terms with the proprietor. The eggs, from six 

 to nine in number, are white, speckled with rusty-red. 

 The flight of the Great Tit is stronger than that of any 

 of the others, and the fact that one was met with 



