688 



of 



rank this little bird among the farmer's 

 friends, and trust our rural citizens will 

 always recognize him as such. This species 

 has a very extensive range ; it has been found 

 on the western coast of America as far north 

 as lat. 62=> . it is common at Hudson's Bay, 

 and most plentiful there during winter, as it 

 then approaches the settlements in quest of 

 food. Protected by a remarkably thick 

 covering of long, soft, downy plumage, it 

 braves the severest cold of those northern 

 regions. The Black -capped Titmouse is 

 five inches and a haltMn length ; the throat, 

 and whole upper part of the head and ridge 

 of the neck, black ; between these lies a 

 triangular edge of white, ending at the 

 nostril ; bill, black and short ; tongue trun- 

 cate ; rest of the upper parts, lead coloured 

 or cinereous, slightly tinged with brown ; 

 wings edged with white ; breast, belly, and 

 rent, yellowish white ; legs light blue ; eyes 

 dark hazel. The male and female are nearly 

 alike. 



The BLUE TITMOUSE. (Parus ccerideiis.') 

 The length of this elegant little bird is four 

 inches and a half ; its beak is dusky ; fore- 

 head and cheeks white, that on the forehead 

 forming a line round the crown of the head, 

 which is of a clear blue ; behind this there 

 is a circle of blue, surrounding the head, 

 and joining at the base of the under man- 

 dible, where it is nearly black : from the 

 beak, through the eyes, is a narrow black 

 line. The back is yellowish- green : quills 

 black, with bluish edges ; wing-coverts blue, 

 edged with white ; under parts of the body 

 yellow : tail blue, the two middle feathers 

 longest. The female is rather smaller than 

 the male, has less blue on the head, and the 

 colours in general are not so bright. This 

 bird is an inhabitant of Europe, and in no 

 country more common than in our own. It 

 has long had the unenviable reputation of 

 being very destructive to gardens and 

 orchards, by plucking off the buds in search 

 of insects and their larvse that are lodged 

 within ; but whether as their destroyer it 

 does more good, than as the horticultural 

 depredator it does harm, is a question not 

 thoroughly ascertained. It is fond of flesh of 

 any description, either fresh or putrid ; and 

 it displays its pugnacious and predaceous 

 disposition whenever it has a fair chance of 

 coming off conqueror. The nest is made in 

 the hollows of trees, of moss lined with 

 feathers and hair. The female lays seven or 

 eight eggs, white, speckled with rust colour : 

 she is very tenacious of her nest, and will 

 suffer herself to be taken rather than quit 

 it ; nay, upon that occasion she will erect 

 all her feathers, utter a noise like the spitting 

 of a cat, and if handled, will bite very 

 Bharply. The note of this bird consists only 

 of a disagreeable shriek. 



Another of the Parus tribe is thus pleas- 

 ingly desciibed by the author of the 

 ' Journal of a Naturalist.' " Our tall hedge- 

 rows and copses are frequented by a very 

 amusing little bird, the LONG-TAILED TIT- 

 MOUSE (Parus cawlatus). Our boys call it 

 the Long-tailed Tom- tit, Long Tom, Poke- 

 pudding, and various other names. It seems 



the most restless of little creatures, and is all 

 day long in a state of progression from tree 

 to tree, from hedge to hedge, jerking through 

 the air with its long tail like a ball of fea- 

 thers, or threading the branches of a tree, 

 several following each other in a little stream ; 

 the leading bird uttering a shrill cry of ta-it, 

 twit, twit, and away they all scuttle to be 

 first, stop for a second, and then are away 

 again, observing the same order and precipi- 

 tation the whole day long. The space tra- 

 velled by these diminutive creatures in the 

 course of their progresses from the first move 

 till the evening roost must be considerable ; 

 yet, by their constant alacrity and animation, 

 they appear fully equal to their daily task. 

 We have no bird more remarkable Yor its 

 family association than this Parus. It is 

 never seen alone, the young ones continuing 

 to accompany each other from the period of 

 their hatching until their pairing in spring. 

 Its food is entirely insects, which it seeks 

 among mosses and lichens, the very smallest 

 being captured by the diminutive bill of this 

 creature. Its nest is as singular in construc- 

 tion as the bird itself. Even in years long 

 passed away, when, a nesting boy, I strung 

 my plunder on the benty grass: it was my 

 admiration ; and I never see it now without 

 secretly lauding the industry of these tiny 

 architects. It is shaped like a bag, and ex- 

 ternally fabricated of moss and different 

 herbaceous lichens, collected chiefly from the 

 sloe and the maple ; but the inside contains 

 such a profusion of feathers, that it seems 

 rather filled than lined with them a perfect 

 feather-bed I I remember finding fourteen 

 or sixteen pea-like eggs within this downy 

 covert, and many more were reported to have 

 been found. The excessive labour of the 

 parent birds in the construction andcollection 

 of this mass of materials is exceeded by none 

 that I know of ; and the exertions of two 

 little creatures in providing for, and feeding, 

 with all the iucumbrances of feathers and 

 tails, fourteen young ones, in such a situa- 

 tion, surpass in diligence and ingenuity the 

 efforts of any other birds, persevering as they 

 are, that I am acquainted with." Modern 

 naturalists place it in a separate genus which 

 from the great length of the tail they call 

 Mecistura. 



PENDULOUS TITMOUSE. (JEgithalm pendu- \ 

 linus.) This species derives its name from its 

 pensile purse-like or flask-like nest,generally 

 suspended at the end of some willow twig or 

 other flexible branch of a tree that overhangs 

 the water. This skilfully wrought habitation 

 is woven from the cotton-like wool or down 

 of the willow or poplar, with an opening in 

 the side for the ingress and the egress of the 

 artificers and their young ; and it is generally 

 so placed as to droop over the brink of a 

 rivulet or pond. This bird is four inches in 

 length : the bill is black, straight, and a 

 little pointed ; forehead, top of the head, 

 and nape, pure ash-colour ; feathers round 

 the eyes and ears deep black ; back and sca- 

 pulars reddish gray ; throat white ; the 

 lower parts generally whitish with rosy 

 tints ; coverts of the wings chestnut, bordered 

 with light rusty and white ; wings and tail 



