524 AVES—TITMOUSE. 
harmony continues several months, begining early in the sprig, on pairing. 
In winter they assemble in flocks, when their song forsakes them, anc the 
bird-catchers destroy them in great numbers, for the tables of the luxurious. 
The common food of the young larks is worms and insects; butafter they 
are grown up they live chiefly on seeds, herbage, and most other vegetable 
substances 
There are many other larks found in Europe, the most noted of which, 
next to the skylark, is the woodlark, which surpasses the skylark in rich- 
ness, though not in variety of song. 
THE BEARDED TITMOUSE! 
is about six inches long, and distinguished by a tuft of black feathers under 
each eye, resembling a mustachio. It is common in the marshes near 
London, and has erroneously been classed among the butcher-birds. The 
titmouse, which is also called the tomtit, bluecap, and nun, is about four 
inches and a half in length, and has a straight black bill, about half an inch 
long, pretty thick. The crown of the head is of a fine blue color; from the 
bill to the eyes there is a black line; and the forehead and cheeks are white. 
The latter color descends as low as the shoulders and middle part of the 
back, where it appears more shaded with a glossy green; the rump is of a 
fine blue. The quill feathers have some of their tips white, some blue, 
others green ; the covert feathers by their white tips make a small trans- 
verse white line upon each wing. _ The breast, belly, and thighs are yellow, 
with a broad black line passing from the thrdat down the middle of the 
breast to the vent. The tail is about two inches and a half long, of a black 
color, except the outward edges of some of the feathers, which are blue. 
The legs and feet are a sort of lead color. , 
These birds feed on insects, seeds, and fruit. They often excite alarm in 
the owners of gardens, under the idea that they are destroying the buds, 
while, in fact, they are engaged in the beneficial operation of seeking for the 
caterpillars that infest them. They are very prolific, laying from fourteen 
to twenty eggs ata time. Ifthe eggs be touched, the female forsakes her 
nest, and builds again. Titmice will venture to assault birds that are 
twice or thrice their own bulk, and in this case they direct their aim chiefly 
at the eyes. They often seize upon birds that are weaker than themselves; 
which they kill, and having picked a hole in their skull, eat out their brains. 
1 Parus biarmicus,Lix. The genus Parus has the bill short, straight, strong, conical, com- 
ressed, terminating in a point, base with small hairs; nostrils basal, rounded, concealed 
y projecting feathers; legs stout; toes divided to their origin, nail of the hind one 
strongest and most bent; wing feathers the first of medium .ength, or almost deficient, the 
fourth and fifth the longest. 
