86 THE BIRDS OF SUSSEX. 



seed of the suuflowePj as well as of maize and oats, as are all 

 the true Parida which are found in this country. 



Its note in spring is very variable, at one time resembling 

 the sharpening of a saw, while at another 'it may be ex- 

 pressed by the three words " Set your beans,''^ with a stress 

 on the first word. It builds sometimes in a hole in the 

 ground or close to it, in a stub * of underwood, or a hole in 

 a tree or wall. I have frequently seen it in the cistern of 

 an unused pump, or in a flower-pot, in one of which, in a 

 very open place, seven young birds were found perfectly 

 dead from the heat of the sun. When building in such 

 situations, it covers the whole of the base with a mass of 

 hair, wool, worsted, &c. felted together, and generally forms 

 the nest in one corner away from the centre. 



BLUE TITMOUSE. 



Parus cceruleus. 



The Blue Titmouse is the commonest of the genus, fre- 

 quenting all parts, except the open heights, or the marshy 

 levels. It is very familiar and very bold, though not par- 

 ticularly pugnacious. It will, however, hiss violently should 

 a finger, or stick be introduced into its nesting-place. If 

 handled, it bites with such ferocity that, among the bird- 

 nesting boys, it has obtained the elegant title of " Billy 

 Biter." Its nest is placed in similar situations to that of 

 the Great Titmouse. There has been more than one in- 

 stance of its choosing a letter-box for this purpose. Mr. 

 Booth mentions that a pair had for several years made use 



* Stub signifies in Sussex an old stump, which has been often cut 

 down, from which many new shoots have arisen. 



