316 SUMMER. 



accustomed to look for it, all that is observed is the 

 rustle of a light wing, and the shaking of the twigs. 

 The upper part is greenish brown, the green shade 

 most conspicuous in the middle of the back ; the under 

 part is white and pale yellow ; the throat and claws 

 are black, which is much more conspicuous in the male 

 than in the female. The cheeks are yellowish white, 

 with a marked line of black passing backwards under 

 the eyes ; below that there is a collar of white, which 

 is again separated from the colour of the back by a 

 band of black. The most distinguishing feature of the 

 bird, however, is the crest, which is of a conical shape, 

 the greater part of it black, as also are the ear-covers, 

 but the feathers edged with white. 



The crested titmouse is found upon the very margin 

 of the living world, as it were, upon those sides of the 

 remote forest that are toward the most wild and lonely 

 mountains, and where the principal cover for it is 

 straggling shrubs and thickets of juniper. The 

 latter are understood to be its winter retreats, and in- 

 deed they are the favourite perches with it in the sum- 

 mer ; and the closeness of their evergreen leaves forms 

 a constant hiding place for it, and is one cause of its 

 being so seldom seen, Another is, the small induce- 

 ment there is to visit its locality. It is probable that, 

 in Scotland, it forms its nest in the thick junipers, 

 though upon the continent it is said to build in the 

 holes of trees and rocks, and sometimes to occupy the 

 deserted nests of other birds. It cannot well build in 

 any of these places, except, indeed, the holes of rocks 

 on the Grampians. There are no hollow trees in those 

 wild places, because the winds and the snows level 



