102 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



PARIDAi. 



THE GREAT TIT. 

 PARUS MAJOR. 



THE very remarkable note of this bird, which is extremely loud 

 in spring and early part of summer, has obtained for it the name 

 of " Jacksaw" in many parts of the country; it resembles the noise 

 made by the action of a file upon a saw, and is uttered generally 

 from the height of some tree top, where the performer jumps about 

 from twig to twig, sharpening his saw with so much energy that 

 one may be readily enough deceived as to the origin of the sound. 

 It rarely happens that two or three of these birds are seen in 

 company. The Great Tit, indeed, differs in this respect from the 

 rest of his clan, and appears to be somewhat unsocial in his habits, 

 travelling for the most part alone, and ranging through woods and 

 gardens without staying above a few seconds in any particular 

 place. All his actions, however, are characterised by a celerity of 

 movement which is always attractive, and as he is invariably well 

 dressed and cheerful in his habits, he may be called a general 

 favourite. 



The nest of the Great Tit is often found in stone walls, always 

 at or near the top; also in holes of trees, which in most instances 

 are decayed and easily excavated, so to speak, by the birds them- 

 selves. The species, which is permanently resident, appears to be 

 generally distributed, but becomes much less common as we travel 

 north of Argyleshire. It is never seen in any of the outer islands, 

 although from the fact of such a bird as the chiffchaff making its 

 appearance in Harris, we may reasonably look for more than one 

 species of tit. Dr Saxby states that it has been seen in Shetland, 

 although it is of extremely rare occurrence there. 



A very unusual charge against this bird is made by Dr Walker 

 (at one time Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh Univer- 

 sity), in his "Essays on Natural History,"* published in 1808. 

 He states that the ox-eye (Parus major, Linn) " is a notorious bee- 

 eater, and has been known to depopulate almost a whole hive." 



