THE YOUNG 



They seem to be very fond of the grub in 

 the round oak-gall. The following interest- 

 ing account is given (Sci. Goss., 1875, p. 92) : 

 '•In the course of a ramble through the 

 fields during the very severe weather which 

 distinguished the closing week of 1874, my 

 attention was arrested by noticing a little 

 bird seated on the topmost twig of a pollard 

 willow at the opposite side of a field from 

 where I was passing, and did not apparently 

 move from its place. I accordingly crossed 

 to the foot of the tree, and was rewarded by 

 a sight which I never shall forget. Perched 

 as I have described was a female of the 

 Marsh Tit busily engrossed in a search for 

 her dinner. Mrs. Tit was vigorously digging 

 into the substance of the twig upon which 

 she was perched, tearing off the bark in 

 sheds, which she kept tossing away with 

 quick impatient gestures. For some time I 

 stood spell-bound in admiration of her 

 dexterity. Clinging to a twig not thicker 

 than a lady's finger, sometimes in an upright 

 position, but more frequently back down- 

 wards, she kept her bill in perpetual action 



upon the twig At last the Tit, startled 



by the discharge of a fowling-piece in an- 

 other field, flew off in alarm. I then man- 

 aged to secure the twig which had been the 

 object of the bird's operations. It presented 

 a curious appearance. The outer bark was 

 much of it torn off, and the inner and 

 tougher rind hung in jags in a very irregu- 

 lar fashion, much reminding one of a branch 

 that had been gnawed by some playful 

 puppy. A pocket magnifying-glass revealed 

 to us that the bark was punctured at 

 irregular distances with small holes beau- 

 tifully drilled. On removing the bark in the 

 neighbourhood of each drill that had been 

 undisturbed by our predecessor in the work, 

 we found a jolly little grub, tinted like 

 healthy salmon ova. The grubs were dis- 

 covered just beneath the inner bark and 

 uniformly in an upward direction from the 

 drilled holes." This observation proves 



NATUEALIST 81 



very conclusively that the supposed destruc- 

 tion of the buds of fruit-trees by Tits is 

 really an act of very great benefit. I am of 

 opinion that a Tit never destroys a bud 

 unless it presents some indications of the 

 presence of insects. 



In Confinement they seem to do very 

 well. I am informed there are generally 

 some in the cages in the Zoological gardens. 



Habitat. — This species may be met 

 with in low, wooded districts, by the mar- 

 gins of rivers and streams, and is common 

 in almost all such situations throughout 

 England and Wales ; but partial in its 

 distribution in Scotland, rarer in the ex- 

 treme north and in Ireland. In winter they 

 generally associate in small companies, 

 either by themselves, sometimes along with 

 other Tits. 



Abroad it is found almost throughout 

 Europe and parts of Asia Minor and China. 



Nest. — The nest is composed of moss 

 and down, either from rabbits or the catkins 

 of willow. It is placed either in a hole in a 

 bank or in a hole in a tree or stake ; when 

 the hole is not large enough the birds ex- 

 cavate it either in depth or width, carrying 

 the chips sometimes to a considerable dis- 

 tance. Mr. Mark Pybus writes me as 

 follows : — " The nest I possess of the Marsh 

 Tit is in a hedge stake about four inches in 

 diameter. It has been hollowed out wtth 

 great labour, for the wood is far from being 

 in the worst stages of decay. The hole is 

 made in the side of the stake about four 

 inches from the top and goes down quite a 

 foot. At one side the wood is almost an 

 inch thick ; at the other, very little beyond 

 the bark is left. The bottom of the hole 

 contains the nest, made of thistle down 

 mixed with a little fine grass. It was taken 

 on the 13th of May at Prudhoe-on-Tyne. 



I have inserted upon the plate a figure of 

 one of the numerous boxes provided for the 

 Tits by Mr. J. Whitaker, F.L.S., at Rain» 



