144 



THE BIRDS OF NOBTMAMFTONSHIRI! 



peculiar partiality for fir-seeds, and consequently for 

 fir-woods, which are comparatively scarce in our part 

 of the county. The note of the Coal-Tit differs 

 considerably from that of the other British species 

 of the family, and has no merit as a musical per- 

 formance. Most of the nests of this bird which 

 I have examined in situ have been placed actually 



Coal-Tits iia cloulDt. 



underground in the burrows of rabbits, moles, or 

 mice; but it will sometimes make use of an old 

 wall or a low decayed tree-stump for a breeding-site ; 

 and I have heard of an instance in which a pair of 

 Coal-Tits began a nest in one of a heap of draining- 

 tiles which had been left for some time undisturbed. 

 The nests which I have found were composed of 

 moss, wool, feathers, and hair ; in one instance the 



