98 BIRDS' NESTS. 



GREAT TIT. Pants major. 

 PLATE III. FIG. 2. 



THE Greater Titmouse usually lays its eggs 

 in the holes of trees or walls, constructing its 

 nest of moss, hair and feathers. It seems 

 also to have a strong predilection for the 

 deserted nest of some other bird, as the crow, 

 magpie, or nuthatch.* I cannot say to what 

 this caprice in the choice of a home is to be 

 attributed : perhaps to indolence, for he some- 

 times takes refuge in a hole, and there esta- 

 blishes himself without building any nest 

 whatever; perhaps to love of variety, a trait 

 in his character which is quite consistent with 

 his pert and foppish air. One place of resort 

 is certainly quite his own, that, namely, of an 

 unused pump, of his selecting which there 

 are many instances on record. The Greater 

 Tit lays from six to nine eggs, closely resem- 

 bling those of the nuthatch, except that the 



* See page 191. . 



