BLUE TITMOUSE. 



41 



This elegant little bird is in length four inches 

 and a half: its beak is dusky: irides dark hazel : 

 forehead and cheeks white ; that on the former in- 

 clines backwards, and forms a line round the crown 

 of the head (which is of a clear blue) ; behind 

 this there is a circle of blue, surrounding the head, 

 and joining at the base of the under mandible, 

 where it is nearly black : from the beak, through 

 the eyes, is a narrow black line : the back is yel- 

 lowish green : quills black, with blueish edges : 

 wing-coverts blue, edged with white : under parts 

 of the body yellow : tail blue, the two middle 

 feathers longest : female rather smaller than the 

 male, has less blue on the head, and the colours 

 in general are not so bright. 



This well known bird is an inhabitant of Europe : 

 it is supposed to be very destructive to gardens 

 and orchards, by plucking off the buds in search 

 of insects, and their larv^ that are lodged within; 

 but whether it does more harm than good has 

 never been correctly ascertained : it is fond of 

 flesh of any description, either fresh or putrid, 

 and will attack birds smaller than itself, and eat 

 them to the bone : it is also fond of oats, which 

 it takes between its claws and hammers with its 

 beak till it breaks the shell : the nest is made in 

 the hollows of trees, of moss lined with feathers 

 and hair : the female lays seven or eight eggs, 

 white, speckled with rust colour; she is very tena- 

 cious of her nest, and will suffer herself to be 

 taken rather than quit it ; and upon that occasion 

 will hiss like a snake, erect all her feathers, and 



