The European Crested Titmouse {Pams cristatus) 



By Joseph Grinnell 



Wise the nuthatch and the titmouse, 

 Wise the bluebird and the downy, 

 To conceal their nests in tree-trunks 

 Where this monster cannot find them. 



—Frank Bollcs, "The Blue Jay." 



Length : 4^j4 inches. 



Sprightly and restless, the Crested Titmouse of liurope freciuents the top- 

 most branches of secluded forests in northern Europe. Hopping from twig to 

 twig, flying from branch to branch, and seeming always in motion, the little bird 

 peers under leaves and into the crevices of the bark, diligently searching for its 

 food of insects, of which it consumes a large number. Of a shy and retiring 

 disposition, it has a decided liking for forests of coniferous trees, where its 

 diminutive form and the compact foliage protect it from intruders of all kinds, 

 while it readily finds an abundant supply of food. It is a rare bird in the central 

 and southern parts of the European continent and in Great Britain. 



Regarding the habits of the Crested Titmouse in Germany, an observer has 

 written : "It does not leave us, and is partly a resident and to some extent a 

 wanderer, but not so much of a wanderer as many other birds, for it seldom leaves 

 the pine woods, and when it does it is only to visit another pine growth situated 

 in non-evergreen woods. Its wanderings are most extended in the late autumn 

 and in the spring. It is then to be found in small groves of pine or hr trees 

 standing in the open country and miles away from the large forests. Jt may 

 also be seen in large gardens. They h.urry uneasily through the non-evergreen 

 woods and fruit gardens which lie between the pine woods they visit on their 

 wanderings and are only at ease wdien in these latter. They also hurry with 

 greater speed over fields or any treeless tract they may pass.*' 



Wherever it is found it is usually a constant resident unless the severity of 

 the weather or the lack of food necessitates a change of locality. At such times 

 it is often seen migrating in company with other species of the smaller birds, 

 and it generally seems to be the leader of these small flocks. It is said that the 

 other species will obey the call notes of the Titmouse and when danger is ap- 

 ])arent it seems to be the first of the birds to give an alarm. Its shy nature, as 

 well as its method of catching its food, would naturally make it alert at all times. 



In an economic sense it is a most useful bird, as it feeds upon insects in all 

 the stages of their development. It also feeds upon the seeds of various cone- 

 bearing trees. Constantly active the crest of this beautiful bird gives it an 

 added dignity as it seeks its food, leads a flock or quarrels with one of its kind, 

 as it often does during the nesting season. 



Probably because of its nesting habits, the Crested Titmouse seems to like 

 those cone-bearing forests in which there are also deciduous trees. Its nest of 



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