TITMICE. 313 
formidable one, for the creature has often been knewn to set upon the 
smaller birds and to kill them by repeated blows on the head, afterwards 
pulling the skull to pieces and picking out the brains. During the winter 
the Great Titmouse draws near to human habitations, and by foraging 
among the barns and outhouses, seldom fails in discovering an ample 
supply of food. 
The nest is always made in some convenient hollow, generally that of 
a tree, but often in the holes of old walls, and in the cavities that are 
formed by thick gnarled roots in the sides of a bank. Hollow trees, how- 
ever, are the favourite nesting-places of this bird, which is able to shape 
the hollow to its liking, by chiselling away the decaying wood with its 
sharp strong beak. The materials of which the nest is made vary accord- 
ing to the locality, There are generally from eight to twelve eggs in each 
BLUE TITMOUSE —(Farus ceruleus.) 
nest, and their colour is whitish grey, covered with mottlings of a rusty red, 
which are thickly gathered towards the larger end. 
The colouring of this species is very bold, and is briefly as follows: The 
top of the head and throat, as far as the middle of the neck, together with 
arather broad streak down the centre of the chest and abdomen, are rich 
purple-black, relieved by a spt of pure white on the nape of the neck, and 
a large flask-shaped patch under each eye. The back and shoulders are 
ashy green, the greater wing-coverts are blue-black, each feather being tipped 
with white, so as to form a bar across the wings. The quill feathers are dark 
green-grey, the primaries being edged with greyish white. The tail-feathers 
are the same green-grey, except that the extreme feathers are white on their 
outer ends. The under parts are light sulphurous yellow, and the under tail- 
coverts are white. The total length of the bird is not quite six inches. 
THE little BLUE TITMOUSE is one of the most familiar birds of England, 
as it is widely spread throughout the land, and is of so bold a nature that it 
exhibits itself fearlessly to any observer. In many of its habits it resembles 
the last-mentioned species, but it nevertheless possesses a very markcd 
character, and has peculiarities which are all its own. As it trips glancingly 
