YELLOW-BREASTED BIRDS. 123 



in northern Scotland. The Blue Tit is the commonest 

 of the Tits, and nests in holes in walls and trees, high 

 or low. He is very sociable, roaming in family- 

 parties after the nesting season, and later in more 

 composite bands including, besides his fellow Tits, 

 such clambering adepts as Goldcrests, Siskins, Red- 

 polls, Nuthatches, and Tree-Creepers. Like most of 

 these, he searches the bark of trees for the insect- 

 food that forms his principal fare ; still, almost any- 

 thing of an edible nature, from beef -suet to an opened 

 cocoa-nut, will command his attention, and he will 

 strip dead bark for the larvse lurking between it and 

 the wood. In his search he assumes any posture on 

 or under a branch, but if he goes to the ground for 

 food, springs back immediately with it into a tree. 

 His notes are a chuckling ' Ghv/r-r-r ! ' a ringing, 

 metallic ' Ping ! ping ! ' which, being extended, forms 

 his song, ' Ping ! ping ! pi-i-i-ing ! ' In autumn 

 and winter the Blue Tit is an hourly passenger 

 through suburban gardens. 



GREAT TIT— 6 inches ; head hlack*, not hlue ; lacks the 



dark line through the eye ; has bold black breast-band. 

 COAL-TIT — 4i inches ; head, throat, and front of neck 



black ; large white nape-patch ; back olive-gray ; under 



parts grayish-white. 

 MARSH-TIT — 4J inches ; head, nape, and chin black ; back 



olive-brown ; under parts grayish-white. 



GREAT TITMOUSE.— Plate 56. Length, 6 inches. 

 Head and throat black ; cheeks arid small nape-patch 

 white ; back olive-green ; wings dusky-bluish on the 

 shoulder, with a white wing-bar ; tail-feathers dusky, 

 the outer ones partly white ; under parts bright yellow, 



