COLE TITMOUSE. 



57 



says he has observed one excavating the decayed 

 parts of tliat tree, carrying the chips in its beak 

 to some distance, always working downwards, 

 and making the bottom for the reception of the 

 nest larger than the entrance : its nest is com- 

 posed of moss and thistle down, intermixed oc- 

 casionally with wool, and lined with down : the 

 eggs are five or six in number, spotted at the 

 larger end with rusty ; weight about twenty 

 grains. 



This species is very fond of wasps, bees, and 

 other insects ; it will also eat flesh, like the greater 

 Titmouse : it is said to lay up a store of seeds 

 against the winter. It is found throughout Europe, 

 and is more plentiful than the Cole Titmouse. 



COLE TITMOUSE. 

 (Parusater.) 



Pa. dorso cinereo, capite nigro, occipite pectoreque albo. 

 Titmouse with an ash-coloured back^ black head, white occiput 

 and breast. 



Parus ater. Lin. Syst. Nat. 1. 34 1. 7. — Lin, Faun. Suec. 266.— 



Gmel. Syst. Nat. 1. lOOQ.—Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 564. 8. 

 Parus atricapillus. Briss. 3. 551. 5. 

 La petit Charbonniere. Buff. Hist. Nat, Ois. 5. 400. 

 ^ Colemouse. Pen. Brit. Zool. 1. 164. t. 57. f. 3.—Pen,Arct. 



Zool. 2. 327.— Lath. Gen. Syn. 4. 540. 7. ^Bewick. Brit. Birds. 



1. 24.1. ^Mont, Brit. Birds. 1. — Mont. Sup. — Letvin. Brit. 



Birds. 3. t. 180.— Dow. Brit, Birds. 4. t. 7g. 



The Cole Titmouse weighs about two drachms 

 and a quarter : length four inches and a quarter : 



