LONG-TAILED — GREAT TITMOUSE — TOMTIT. 219 



Even the elegant Oriole,* in vesture of gold, 

 (Go thou who art sceptic such birds' nests behold !) 

 Came to grace, by his presence, the redolent spring, 

 And to proffer respect to the Aquiline King. 



Long-tail Pie, Mum-ruffin, or Pudding- Poke, is the smallest of 

 the tribe j the tail longer than the body; crown white; greater 

 wing coverts black, lesser brown, edged with rosy ; length 

 rather more than five inches. For a description of its nest see 

 the Notes to the Introduction. The nest is, however, occasionally 

 varied in size, form, and the position of its entrance. In a 

 drawing of one, a fac-simile of it, lately obtained for me by a 

 friend from the neighbourhood of Dover, it is much neater ex- 

 ternally than this nest usually appears : it looks like a truncated 

 cylinder, the top being arched over, on one side of which is the 

 hole. Eggs small, seventeen or more, white spotted with rusty; 

 sometimes a pure white without any spots. Feeds on insects 

 and their larvae. Inhabits Europe and this country. 



The Major, Great-Titmouse, Ox-eye, Great-black-headed 

 Tomtit, Black-cap, has the head black, cheeks white ; back and 

 wings olive green ; rump blue grey ; belly greenish yellow ; 

 length five inches and three quarters ; frequents gardens, but 

 builds in woods ; eggs ten, or more, colour of those of the pre* 

 ceding. Said to be injurious to gardens and orchards by pick- 

 ing off the tender buds from trees ; but this may be questioned. 

 Inhabits Europe, Asia, Africa, and this country. Another 

 variety with the bill forked, and crossed as in the loxia cur- 

 virostra, thence named the Cross-bill Titmouse. Builds in the 

 hole of a wall or a tree. 



The Cceruleus, Tomtit, Blue-Titmouse, Nun, or Uickmall,ha& 

 the back yellowish-green, tail blue; body, beneath, white- 

 yellow ; four and a half inches long ; frequents gardens like the 



* For an account of the Golden- Oriole, see Part II.; for the 

 Orioles' nests, see page 23. 



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