57 
GREAT TIT. 
OXEYE. BLACK-CAP. GREAT TITMOUSE. GREAT 
BLACK-HEADED TOMTIT. TOM COLLIER. SIT-YE-DOWN. 
PLATE XXX. 
Parus major, .  . Pennant. Monracu. Berwick. 
THE nest is usually made in a hole of a tree or 
of a wall, or crevice of a rock; sometimes the forsaken 
nest of a Crow or Magpie is converted into a tenement. 
Not unfrequently it is placed in a pump, either used 
or unused, the door-way being by the orifice for the 
handle. Another has been known to build far up among 
the rafters of a house; one in a window-frame, the 
entrance being through the opening for the weight; 
and another under an inverted flower-pot. It is com- 
posed of a quantity of moss, feathers, leaves, hair, or 
other materials loosely compacted. Occasionally the eggs 
are laid on the dust of the wood alone; and if I may 
offer a conjecture on the subject, possibly these cases 
may be when a first nest has been taken or destroyed, 
and the bird is in a hurry about her second brood. 
Since writing the above I perceive that Montagu has 
made a similar suggestion. 
The Rev. G. Sowden, of Stainland, near Halifax, 
Yorkshire, has written me word of his having once 
found the nest in the wall of a house, exclusively com- 
posed of rabbits’ fur; all the corners of the hole were 
VOL. I. I 
