MARSH-TITMOUSE. 



PASSERES. 



495 



PARID^E. 



PARUS PALUSTRIS, Linnaeus*. 



THE MARSH-TITMOUSE. 



Parus palustris. 



THE MARSH-TITMOUSE, if not so generally distributed as 

 some others of the genus, is yet plentiful as a species in many 

 localities, and, as its name implies, is more partial than the 

 rest to low tracts of land hearing willows and alders, and to 

 swampy ground near woods ; but it is by no means confined 

 to such situations, and often visits orchards and gardens, 

 though it does not much affect high trees, generally preferring 

 coppice and brushwood. Like its congeners, it remains in 

 this country throughout the year, and otherwise resembles 

 them in its active and sprightly habits, flitting from place to 

 place, feeding on insects in their different stages, and towards 

 autumn and in winter on the seeds and berries' of various 

 plants, though the quest of insects always forms its chief occu- 

 pation. In the pursuit of its prey Mr. Alston has observed it, 

 he says (Zool. p. 6891), thrust its bill under the scales of the 



* Syet. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 341 (1766). 



