PERCHING BIRDS. 167 



There are seven British species of the TITS ; 

 namely, the great tit, the bine tit, the cole tit, the 

 marsh tit, the long-tailed tit, the crested tit, and 

 the bearded tit. They are a diminutive but 

 sprightly race of birds, possessed both of much 

 courage and much strength. Their general food 

 consists of seeds, fruits, insects, and their eggs ; 

 and they will eat small pieces of meat, and parti- 

 cularly fat, of which they are very fond. They 

 do not migrate, but sometimes make short flittings 

 to and from other places, in search of food. Some 

 of them will venture to attack birds twice or thrice 

 their own size ; and in this case they aim chiefly 

 at the eyes. Their motions are rapid and agile, 

 and they run with incessant activity along the 

 branches of trees, and hang suspended from the 

 twigs, hunting for their insect prey.* 



The GREAT TIT or " torn-tit," is common in woods 

 and gardens throughout the country. He is the 

 largest of the species, and will frequently kill 

 small birds; which he does by repeated blows of 



* Mr. Yarrell observes that the great tit, the blue, the cole, 

 the marsh, and the long-tailed tit, are each of them common 

 around London. He adds that a young ornithological friend 

 of his gave him a list of birds observed by himself in Kensing- 

 ton Gardens, including nearly seventy species (an unusually 

 large number for so limited a locality in such a situation). 

 The five species of tits just named were included in the 

 list. 



