AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 145 



latter material seemed to have been entirely taken 

 from the bellies of the Fallow-deer, and I have 

 several times seen a quantity of rabbit's fur used as a 

 lining. The eggs are generally six or seven, and 

 very closely resemble those of the Blue Titmouse. 



Since the above article first appeared in print, the 

 Coal-Tit has become exceedingly common about 

 Lilford, and is at present (1894) at least as abundant 

 as any other species of the genus Parus. 



61. MARSH-TITMOUSE. 



Parus palustrls. 



This species, though it cannot be called rare, is 

 certainly the least frequent of the five common 

 British species of Titmouse in our neighbourhood, 

 though we can generally find a pair or two of Marsh- 

 Tits within a quarter of an hour's stroll from the 

 house at Lilford, the old alders by the river-side 

 being an almost sure find for these little birds at all 

 seasons of the year. So far as my observation goes, 

 the Marsh-Tit is not such a frequenter of gardens or 

 the vicinity of human habitations as the three pre- 

 ceding species, and is less often to be found amongst 

 high trees than those birds, though in other respects 

 it closely resembles them. The note is harsh and 

 peculiar, and has often guided us towards the nest, 

 which is generally built low in a rotten stump or an 

 old pollard willow. Both nest and eggs may easily 

 be mistaken for those of the more common Coal-Tit, 

 but the present species sometimes makes use of 

 willow-down as a lining, and, so far as I know, never 



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