THE LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. 



305 



crowd upon the trees and plants in the early days of spring, and which, 

 if not removed, would effectually injure a very large proportion of the 

 fruit and produce. 



The nest of this species may be found in the most extraordinary 

 localities, such as hollow trees, holes in old walls, the 'interior of dis- 

 used spouts, sides of gravel-pits, the hat of a scarecrow, the inside of a 

 porcelain jar, or the cylinder of a pump. One bird had actually chosen 

 a beehive as its residence, and had succeeded in building its nest and 



rearing its young while sur- 

 rounded by the bees going 

 to and returning from their 

 work. Another Titmouse con- 

 trived to get into a weather- 

 cock on the summit of a spire, 

 and there made its nest in 

 security. The eggs are small 

 and rather numerous, being 

 generally about eight or ten, 

 but sometimes exceeding the 

 latter number. 



The Long-tailed Tit- 

 mouse is familiarly known 

 throughout England, and is 

 designated under different ti- 

 tles, according to the locality 

 in which it resides, some of 

 its popular names being de- 

 rived from its shape and 

 others from its ci'est. In 

 The Blue Titmouse {Pams coendeuH). some parts of the country it 

 is called " Long Tom," while in others it goes by the name of " Bottle- 

 crested Tit " or " Poke-Pudding," the latter word being a provincial 

 rendering of the useful culinary apparatus termed a pudding-bag. 



This pretty little bird is a notable frequenter of trees, hedgerows, and 

 orchards, and is remarkable for its sociable habits, being generally seen 

 in little troops of six or eight in number. It appears that the young 

 birds always remain with their parents throughout the whole of the first 

 year, so that when the brood happens to be a large one, as many as six- 

 teen Long-tailed Titmice may be seen hopping and skipping about to- 

 gether. 



So far as is known, the Long-tailed Titmouse feeds exclusively on in- 

 sects, and on account of its microscopical eyes is able to see and to catch 

 the very minutest. The service which is rendered to agriculture by 

 even a single nest of these birds is almost invaluable, for at all sea- 



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