List of Birds Examined. 25 



Conclusion. 



This species undoubtedly occasions a considerable amount of 

 damage to apple and pear trees, but when one considers the nature 

 of the food during the breeding season and that of the remainder 

 of the year, it must be regarded as distinctly beneficial to the fruit- 

 grower. By no other means could he obtain such results at so email 

 a cost. 



BLUE TIT. 



Parus caeruleus, Linn. 



This active little bird is frequently given a bad name by fruit- 

 growers, without pausing to consider the good that it does. I have 

 had exceptional facilities of watching this bird in the field, in 

 addition to which, thirty-eight post-mortems have been made of 

 adults, ten of nestlings, and a considerable amount of work has 

 been done on the examination of the faeces. 



This bird is often blamed for wantonly destroying buds, etc., 

 in this connection, Archibald (4) states: "Whilst searching for its 

 insect food it sometimes appears exceedingly and wantonly mis- 

 chievous. It may be seen tearing the buds or blossoms of fruit 

 trees to pieces in a reckless manner and most capriciously, for, 

 after a cursory survey, it will leave one tree and then subject to a 

 prolonged investigation another to all appearances exactly similar. 

 There is, however, method enough in this procedure, for it is not 

 the buds or blossoms themselves that are so eagerly sought for, but 

 the eggs or grubs of insects with which they are so often infested. 

 From their minute size these pests escape human observation, but 

 the keen vision of the tit enables it to detect them. It is scarcely 

 necessary to add that the insects, if unmolested, would not only 

 destroy the buds and blossoms, but would produce a countless 

 progeny as rapacious as themselves. I witnessed, not long ago, a 

 good instance of this apparently destructive propensity. Some blue 

 tits were busily engaged in a willow, stripping the catkins from the 

 twigs, and showering them down on to the road, chuckling to them- 

 selves at intervals with evident delight. The whole performance 

 looked as if it were a piece of exuberant mischief, but on examining 

 some of the catkins scattered on the road, I noticed dark-brown 

 channels in their centres, and on gathering further specimens from 

 the willow, the secret of the tits 7 satisfaction was revealed. For in 

 many of them a little white grub was ensconced, eating out the 

 core of the catkin. It was impossible to resist the idea that 

 chuckles of exceptional vivacity heralded the discovery of grubs of 

 more than ordinary dimensions." 



