TITMICE. 309 



preventing the whole of the trees from being devoured 

 by insects. In the spring, they are pruners, whisking 

 about, and cutting off opening buds with their strong 

 conical beaks ; and, though they be often blamed for 

 'that part of their economy, it is always an advantage, 

 as they care not for the bud itself, but only for the 

 worm that it contains, which worm would be certain to 

 destroy that bud before it underwent its transformation, 

 and might, in the course of the season, produce a pro- 

 geny that would destroy thousands more. In the 

 later period of the season, when the eggs of insects 

 cease to be hatched in leaves, and new ones are depo- 

 sited in the crevices of the bark, the habits of the tit- 

 mice change, and they become tree creepers, running 

 along the stems and branches, in all directions, with 

 the greatest ease and rapidity, and clearing the crevices 

 of every living thing that they can discover. There is 

 no bird that it is more amusing to watch than a 

 titmouse, when it is thus occupied, their motions are 

 so lively, and they can run back undermost with the 

 greatest ease. Except one species, they do not, in 

 general, weigh much more than a quarter of an ounce, 

 and yet the smallest of them do not hesitate to attack 

 birds of double their size. They are often seen in 

 numbers coursing the cuckoo ; and when the owl is 

 forced out of his hiding place in bright light, a situa- 

 tion for which the peculiar structure of his eyes but ill 

 adapt him, the titmice are sure to find him out, flock 

 round him, aim at his eyes with their sharp beaks, 

 and drive him hissing to the nearest cover that he can 

 find. They are also apt to attack other little birds, 

 and generally kill by repeated stabs in the head such 

 as are too young and too sickly for escaping by flight. 



