TITS, 451 



coal - tit is an inquisitive bird ; and we have known one voluntarily enter an 

 empty mouse-trap, apparently tempted only by curiosity. The adult male has the 

 crown black ; a distinct white patch adorns the nape ; the sides of the head are pure 

 white, the upper-parts slaty blue, the throat black, the centre of the body 

 whitish, and the flanks buff. 



Generally frequenting gardens, orchards, and woods near swampy 



ground, the marsh-tit (P. palustris) displays a marked partiality for 

 rabbits' fur as a nesting material ; some nests being almost entirely composed of it. 

 One taken from a hole in a birch-tree was compact, cup-shaped, smooth both exter- 

 nally and internally, and mainly composed of rabbits' fur, interwoven on the inner 

 side with minute chips of dried grasses, and on the outer side with fine moss ; while 

 another from Berkshire was a thick matted structure of moss and dogs' hair, the 

 moss predominating on the outside and the hair inside. The eggs are pure white, 

 dotted all over with red. The adult male has the crown glossy black, the sides of 

 the neck white, the back greyish brown, the throat black, the wings and tail 

 greyish brown, and the breast white tinged with buff. 



Common in most parts of Europe, where it frequents gardens, 



orchards, and the neighbourhood of houses, the blue-tit (P. cceruleus), 

 is a familiar bird, and often exhibits its antics in full view of any passer-by. Its 

 laughing call-note is well known to every schoolboy, and scarcely less so are its 

 nest and eggs. Bearing its young in a great variety of situations, the same site 

 being resorted to for many generations, the blue tit often nests in a hole upon the 

 ground, while a pair have been known to rear their brood in the steeple of a church. 

 The blue tit sits very close upon its eggs, which, like those of other tits, are white 

 spotted with pale red. Both the present species and the great tit are migratory in 

 their habits, not only crossing the North Sea upon their journeys, but sometimes 

 venturing into the heart of London. The forehead is white ; the crown, back of 

 the neck, and collar are bright blue ; the back is yellowish green ; the wings and 

 tail are blue ; the throat is dusky black and the under-parts are pure yellow. 



Another member of the family that calls for notice, on account of 



the beauty of its plumage, is the azure tit (P. cyaneus) of Siberia, 

 which occasionally wanders into Europe, having been captured more than once in 

 the neighbourhood of the Russian capital. According to an account of its habits, 

 published by Dr. Dybowski, it appears that this tit breeds in holes in old trees, 

 especially willows, sometimes making use of a deserted woodpecker's nest. The 

 nest is composed of the fur of the white hare and squirrel, with a few pieces of 

 slender grass. The azure tit lays ten or eleven eggs ; and one nest is on record 

 composed of dried green moss intermixed with fine cow-hair. The eggs are white, 

 spotted with dull red at the larger end. The adult male has the head snowy white, 

 appearing in life as if powdered over with blue ; the back is pale bluish grey ; the 

 upper tail -coverts are Prussian blue tipped with white; the wings are greyish 

 brown, white at the base of the inner web, and the outer web Prussian blue ; while 

 the tail is very long and bright Prussian blue, with the exception of the outer 

 feathers, which are white, as are the lower-parts. 



. _ Originally included in the typical genus, the crested tit (Loph- 



The Crested Tits. . / ^ -, -, 



ophanes cmstatus) of Northern Europe, is now generally considered 



