COLE TITMOUSE. 313 







tivity and courage in their native freedom. The male 

 has a sort of note during the breeding time, but there 

 is very little music in it. 



Though the great titmouse is a bird of the woods, it 

 is not found in the northern and colder situations ; 

 but there is a bird very abundant there, which is a 

 very good miniature of it, and which often gets the 

 same common name of ox-eye in those places where 

 the larger one is not found. That is the cole titmouse 

 (par us ater). It is a very little bird, about four inches 

 and a half in length, and between six and seven in the 

 wings ; but it is a very neatly formed and lively little 

 creature. The colours are not unlike those of the 

 great titmouse, only there is not the tinge of blue. 

 Scotland and the mountainous parts of the north of 

 England and Wales, are the localities of this little 

 bird ; and, unless where they are near woods, it does 

 not approach houses, but continues in its woods (the 

 pine forests are its favourites) all the year round. 

 Though very abundant, they are not very easily seen 

 in the summer, as they skip about upon the trees with 

 great activity ; but in the cold weather they come lower 

 down, and probably find their food in the earth, 

 through those openings of the snow that are often left 

 at the roots of trees. At least they may be found 

 escaping from those places when there is snow upon 

 the ground. A hole in the snow is the warmest place 

 that an alpine bird can find, even in a forest, on 

 a very cold night ; and, accordingly, the little birds 

 roost there, and do not leave it except when the sun 

 is out, or when they are driven from it by hunger or 

 alarm. 



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