TITS, OR TITMICE. 11 



that chosen by the other Titmice, is the chosen nesting-place of this, 

 the smallest of British Tits ; sometimes its eggs are laid in a cavity of 

 a wall near the base, in a hollow in a bank, or even amid the twisted 

 roots of a tree, or a hole dug by a rat, mouse, or mole ; the eggs are 

 from six to eight or more in number, white, spotted with red; moss, 

 with a lining of hair or fur, are the materials generally used in the 

 construction of the nest, in which the male and female sit by turns ; 

 if intruded on while sitting, the bird makes a hissing noise, and will 

 defend the young with great spirit and determination. 



The plumage of this diminutive bird, whose length is about four 

 inches and a quarter, and weight seldom comes up to half an ounce, 

 is not so diversified as that of most other Tits ; the crown of the head 

 is black, glossed with blue; the chin and throat are also black, and 

 the sides near the wings ; the back is a dark ashy grey, with a greenish 

 tinge towards the lower parts, and the wings are ash coloured and 

 black, with a bar of white across the lower part. There is a white 

 stripe from the back of the head down the neck on each side, and a 

 white patch upon either cheek; the tail is brownish grey, with white 

 markings; the feet and the legs are lead-coloured: so there is much 

 harmony of colour, but producing no very striking effect. Like the 

 other Tits, Master Coley feeds chiefly on insects, taking a turn at 

 vegetable food when these cannot be readily obtained; he is fond of 

 the seeds of all kinds of pine and fir trees, and is said by the German 

 naturalist Bechstein to lay up in summer a store of these for winter 

 use, imitating in this respect the foresight of the industrious ant. 



THE CRESTED TIT, 



(JParus cristatus.} 

 PLATE I. FIGURE IV. 



THIS beautiful little bird is found in almost every part of the con- 

 tinent of Europe, even the coldest; with us it is very rare, residing 

 chiefly in the northern parts of the island, where there are pine forests, 

 in which it loves to hide, being a bird of secluded habits; no specimen 

 has yet been observed in Ireland. It is what may be called a partial 

 migrant, that is, it does not come to us from over the sea at one time 

 of the year, and leave us at another, but it migrates at pretty regular 

 times from one part of the country to another. They are more sociable 



