148 1(A{MBLES OF A <DOfMINIS 



the tomtit of immemorial usage, a picture in himself, 

 not only for his bright blue cap and yellow breast, his 

 white cheeks and the neat black line about his neck, but 

 by reason of the marvellous grace and endless variety of 

 his attitudes. It is generally some time before a new 

 comer feels properly at home. He may settle near the 

 bone or even on it, but waits and watches, and looks 

 this way and that, up, down, round on all sides the 

 very picture of indecision, and perhaps flies off a dozen 

 times before he musters courage to settle to his dinner. 

 But when his fit of shyness is over, and when he has 

 made up his mind that there is no danger to be appre- 

 hended, there is a charm in his way of going to work 

 that must be seen to be appreciated. Now standing 

 upright on the bone, now and this seems to be his 

 favourite attitude hanging head downwards under it, 

 now with one tiny claw upon the cord and the other on 

 his dinner, he is never for a moment still. Now stop- 

 ping short, with his comical little head on one side, he 

 regards you with a half doubtful, half patronising, 

 wholly impertinent air, and then sets to again, tearing 

 away the tiniest morsels with his tiny beak. 



The great tit or ox-eye is dressed in bolder tints. 

 His slightly larger size, his black head, his white cheeks 

 (much whiter than those of his smaller kinsman), and 

 his handsome black-cravat, distinguish him easily from 

 the others. There is a soberer tone about the coal-tit, 

 whose dull grey breast cannot match the yellow of his 

 smart relations. But the glossy black upon his head, 

 with a touch of white behind it, makes him a smart 

 little fellow enough. Not greatly different is the less 



