AVES—TITMUUSB §25 
They are very fond of flesh, vast admirers of suet, and frequently pick bones 
from dunghills and other places. This bird is distinguished above the rest 
of its kind, by its rancor against the owl. 
There are many European varieties of this bird; the greater titmouse is 
about five inches in length. The nests of almost every kind are constructed 
with the most exquisite art, and with materials of the utmost delicacy ; such 
as moss, hair, and the web of spiders, with which the whole is strongly tied 
together. 
BLA CKACAP YT TIT MOUS E.! 
Tuts isone of our American birds, active, noisy, and restless, hardy beyond 
any of his size, braving the severest cold of our continent, as far north as the 
country around Hudson’s Bay, and always appearing most lively in the 
coldest weather. The males have a variety of very sprightly notes, which 
cannot indeed be called a song, but rather a lively, frequently repeated, and 
often varied, twitter. They are most usually seen during the fall and winter, 
when they approach nearer to the scenes of cultivation. They begin to 
build in April, choosing the deserted hole of a squirrel or woodpecker, and 
sometimes, with incredible labor, digging one out for themselves. They tra- 
verse the woods from tree to tree, tumbling, chatting, and hanging from the 
extremities of the branches, examining about the roots of the leaves, buds, 
and crevices of the bark, for insects and their larve. They also visit the 
orchards, the sides of the barn, and barn-yard, in the same pursuit. 
These birds sometimes fight violently with each other, and are known to 
attack young and sickly birds that are incapable of resistance, always direct- 
ing their blows against the skull. 
The crested titmouse is also an inhabitant of the United States, but 1s 
more common in the northern parts. 
1 Parus bicolor, Lux. 
