THE SPECIES. 113 



rhe Continental Coal Tit- -Dimensions, Ae j Eggs, Be — is said to be born abroad, and 

 only to come here on migration. 



The British Coal Tit — Dimensions, Afj Eggs, Bb — is resident here and seemingly- 

 increasing. It has a short fluttering flight. The note is a shrill " ping, ping," or " che, chee." 

 The female is duller than the male in colour. The nest is in a hole either in a stump, or the 

 ground, or a wall^ and is loosely made of dry grass, feathers, moss, hair, and wool ; the eggs 

 are from five to nme in number. 



The Crested Tit — Dimensions, Ag ; Eggs, Aq — is resident among the Scottish pine forests. 

 It has the usual fluttering flight of the tits. Its note is " ptur-re-re-ree,*' with a call of 

 "si-si-si." The female has a shorter crest than the male, and is not so black on the throat. 

 The nest is in a hole, and is a felted mass of grass, moss, wool, fur, and feathers. Sometimes 

 a deserted Crow's nest is adapted. There are from four to seven eggs. 



The Blue Tit — Dimensions, Ai j Eggs, Ae — is the commonest of the family. It has not 

 only a blue crown, but blue wing coverts. The flight is a fluttering uncertain one, with rapid 

 flappings and sudden undulations. The note is " chee, chee, chicka, chee," with an 

 occasional " chirr-r," and a call of " si, si, si.'* The female is not so bright in plumage as the 

 male. The nest is generally in a hole, but it does not seem to matter where the hole is. It 

 is rather loosely built of moss, grass, wool, hair, and feathers ; and it contains from 5 to 

 12 eggs. 



The Marsh Tit — Dimensions, Aj ; Eggs, Aj— is resident, but rather uncommon. It has a 

 short, fluttering flight ; its call is *' ti, ti, ti," and its note is '* sis, sis, sis, would ye, would 

 ye." The female is indistinguishable from the male. The nest is in a hole, which the bird 

 has been seen to make in some decayed stump, though rat holes are sometimes adapted to 

 suit the purpose. The nest is a felted mass of moss, wool, fur, and willow down ; and 

 contains from five to eight eggs. 



The Great Tit — Dimensions, Bm ; Eggs, Bk — is one of our commoner birds. It is often 

 called the Oxeye, and its note has been described as resembling " oxeye, oxeye, oxeye, 

 oxeye, twink, twink I " which same " oxeye " has also been compared to the sharpening of a 

 saw. The call is *' teeta tee." The flight is a short, irregular flutter. The female is not so 

 bright in plumage as the male. The nest is in holes and elsewhere, and is a felted mass of 

 grass, moss, hair, feathers, and wool, containing from 5 to 11 eggs. 



Passer. Plate vii. FRINGILLINM (Passeridse). 



94. montanus, 5 in. Tree Sparrow. Crown chocolate ; ear coverts 



whitish with a black patch behind them. 

 93. domesticus, 6 in. House Sparrow. Crown grey, bordered with 

 chestnut ; ear coverts whitish with no black patch. 

 The Tree Sparrow — Dimensions, Ba ; Eggs, Ea — seems to be on the increase, though still 

 far less numerous than the House Sparrow. Its fliglit is easy and swift ; its note is 

 " see-you-eat," and its call a " chirrup." The female is like the male, ^ The nest is domed 

 when it is not in a hole or under shelter, and it is often found in quarries and rocks. It is 

 built of straw, grass, and wool, lined with hair and feathers, and contains from four to six 

 eggs. 



The House Sparrow — Dimensions, Df ; Eggs, Ej — is said to be the friend of man, probably 

 from his making as much use of him as possible. He is never seen to walk beyond one or 

 two steps, but hops and jumps, as do all the finches ; and he is said to cock his tail in wet 

 weather and droop it in dry. His is a rapid and direct flight as a rule, though he often 

 undulates and flutters. He has a twittering note ; a call of " Philip, Philip, get up 1 " and a 

 chirpy alarm. The female wants the grey crown and black on the throat. The nest is domed 

 when in a tree, but is oftener built under cover on some outside part of a house. It is an 

 untidy collection of straw, grass, wool, hair, string, rags, paper, and sundries, lined with 

 feathers, and containing from five to seven eggs. 



Pastor. Plate ix. STURNINM (Passeridse). 



121. roseuSf 8^ in. Rose-coloured Starling. Crest, head, and 



neck violet black ; back and breast rose-coloured ; 

 wings and tail black ; bill red ; legs brown. 

 The Rose-coloured Starling — Dimensions, Hk ; Eggs, Gf — was first recognised at Norwood 

 in 1742, and has since been a somewhat frequent spring visitor. 



PHASIANIDM. 

 12^ in. Partridge. Tail of 16 feathers ; legs blue. 

 13^ in. Red-legged Partridge. Tail of 14 feathers ; 

 legs red. 



The Partridge — Dimensions, Kj ; Eggs, It — is almost as familiar as the barn-door fowl, 

 which is not however recognised as a British Bird. The male has a horse-shoe mark on the 



