2i8 THE COAL-TITMOUSE 



hood of rivers and delights itself among the alder trees 

 and pollarded willows of swampy ground. 



The Coal Tit is the same size as the Crested Tit. Cheeks 

 white at the back of the head a w 7 hite patch, the rest of 

 the head black, so that this colour forms a broad bridle, 

 which recalls that of the great tit. Underneath it is of a 

 dingy white, the mantle a bluish ash-colour with a tinge 

 of green. Wings and tail dark grey, the former having 

 two oblique whitish stripes. The nest is built on the 

 ground, in holes in fir trees under decaying bark, some- 

 times in holes in the ground and is formed for the most 

 part of green moss, the interior being warmly lined with 

 hair. The clutch consists of six sometimes even ten- 

 eggs of a brilliant white finely speckled with rust-colour. 



