9 o THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



plumage ; greenish back, cheeks white, with a blue-black line through the 

 eye. Every one must know this familiar bird-acrobat, which invariably utters 

 its note, when alighting, like the clown's " Here we are again ! " " Chee-chee- 

 chee," and " Chee-chee-chee, chit, te-de-dee-dee," the last five syllables uttered 

 quickly and on a lower note. The bird nests hi any convenient hole, and its 

 presence within may be known by its hisses when disturbed. It lays seven to 

 twelve eggs, white, with red spots. This is one of the birds which it is a sheer 

 delight to watch at the cocoanuts and suet, which should be hung up during 

 the winter for its food. I once took a photograph of an incident much 

 later in the year, when in June a Blue Tit brought its family to be fed from 

 the remains of a cocoanut in my garden. 



Tit, British Coal. This little bird (4^ inches) has a black head and throat, 

 white patch on each cheek, and a noticeable white patch on the nape, which 

 distinguishes it from the Marsh Tit. The back is olive-brown ; wings dusky 

 brown, with two white bars ; the under parts greyish white. The song is a 

 weaker edition of the Great Tit's, but without the final " Wheat." Its nest 

 is generally in a hole in a tree or wall, and the eggs are white, with many 

 pale red spots. 



Tit, Crested. Is a rare bird, confined almost entirely to the valley of the 

 Spey, and is distinguished by the crest. 



Tit, Great. This is the largest of the British tits, and is distinguished by 

 the white cheeks surrounded by black, and the black band that runs from 

 the throat down the centre of the yellow breast. The spring note, often said 

 to sound like a saw cutting wood " Wheet-tu, wheet-tu, wheet-tu-wheat " 

 is one of the first bird notes that announce the coming of spring. The bird 

 also utters a sharp " Pink-pink," like the Chaffinch. The Great Tit is 

 " resident and generally distributed." Head and throat black ; cheeks white, 

 white patch on nape ; breast yellow, with black streak down the middle ; 

 back yellowish green ; wings and tail grey-blue. 



The nest is a biggish structure, usually in some hole from a letter-box to 

 a tree-stump made of moss, wool, fur, hair, etc. The eggs are white, with 

 red spots. 



The Great Tit, like the others of its family, has popularly a bad character 

 for destroying fruit-buds, etc. ; but it has been proved that the tits, even 

 the Great and Blue, feed chiefly on injurious insects the Great Tit's young 

 are fed generally on moth larvae, and it is calculated that one pair in rearing 

 their nestlings destroy between 7,000 and 8,000 larvae ; the Blue Tit even more. 



Unfortunately, as I have seen to my cost, the Great Tit has a partiality 

 for hive bees as well, and I fear I must state that when once it is discovered 

 that the hives are being molested, there is nothing to be done but to destroy 

 the robbers ! 



Tit, Irish Coal. This bird was only recognized in 1910 ; is found only in 

 Ireland, and is distinguished by the sulphur-yellow which replaces the white 

 patches in the British variety. 



