<; RE AT TIT, BLUE-TIT, COAL-TIT, MARSH-TIT 197 



then- is one such paragraph in tin- Hungarian publication quoted 

 ;il>ove ; if it IKJ true* that- 



" A robin redbreast in a cage 

 I > th set all Heaven in a rage," 



then surely the following jst;iii-ti<-s would seem to call for fire and 

 brimstone, or a second deluge ! 



According to Prof. Vallon, in October 1890, 423,800 dead birds 

 were passed through the Customs at Brescia. Amongst these at first 

 were found spotted fly-catchers, pied-flycatchers, whitethroats, garden- 

 \\;irblers, lesser whitethroata, rock-pipits, great and blue titmice all 

 birds of the greatest value. . . . Near Montegrado, within three days, 

 14,000 swallows fell victims, and on the stone field Crao three millions 

 of swallows fell into the nets." 



With regard to the summer migrants destroyed in this wholesale 

 manner, there can be no doubt that the injury inflicted upon 

 agriculture must be immense ; but still it seems to me that our own 

 resident birds, especially the Tits, nuthatch, tree-creeper, and 

 goldcrest, must be even better worth preserving, from the mere fact 

 that they are on the warpath all the year round. 



The great-tit's partiality for bees, however, makes him an object 

 of suspicion to the apiculturalist This species has been known 

 actually to break its way into a hive and feed upon the inmates. 

 Mr. F. Boyes narrates a rather peculiar instance of a great-tit being 

 killed by the bees whose hive it had visited once too often on bee- 

 murder intent ; a trap being set, it was caught by the leg, and the 

 infuriated inhabitants of the hive revenged themselves by stinging it 

 to death before Mr. Boyes could effect its release. 3 



The Tits pair early, if indeed they do not pair for life. As soon 

 as February comes in, the struggle for "first pick" of whatever 

 dainties you may dispense to your pensioners ceases between indivi- 

 dual birds of the same species, and two of a kind will be seen feeding 



1 International Convention, historical sketch, by Otto Herman, p. 21. 

 1 Nelson and Clark, Birds of Yorkshire, p. 100. 



