The Great Titmouse. 



343 



being slighly tinctured with dark blue or purple. The cheek& 

 are white ; the junction of the neck and back is Siskin green ^ 

 intermixed with white ; the back is a lovely pale olive green, and 

 the rump and tail coverts bluish grey. The pen feathers are 

 bluish black, the larger quills being edged with white, and the 

 secondaries with palish green. The wing coverts are bluish ashen 

 grey in some birds, and olive brown in others ; the greater 

 coverts are tipped with white, forming a bar across the closed 

 wings. The tail is bluish black, the two centre feathers 

 having a decidedly blue shade ; the exterior feathers are white 

 on the outer, and part of the inner, plume, and the remainder 

 edged with pale blue ; the second feather on each side is 

 tipped with white. The breast and belly are yellowish green, 

 showing more yellow as the bird gets matured. Down the 

 centre, from the breast to the vent, is an irregular, broad, black 

 stripe ; the vent is black, edged with greyish white ; the sides 

 are olive green; the thighs are pale grey, spotted with black. 

 The legs and feet are lead colour. These birds are not in 

 their best plumage until three years old. 



Habits and Beeeding. — The Great Titmouse is indigenous 

 to this country, and may be met with in all parts of England 

 and Wales, and in most parts of Scotland and Ireland. It is 

 likewise found pretty generally throughout Europe, and also 

 in Africa. It frequents gardens, orchards, groves, thickets, and 

 hedgerows. In winter time, these birds to some extent may 

 be considered gregarious, as they keep together in family 

 parties, and move from place to place, in search of food, 

 until the advent of spring, when they separate in pairs, and 

 nest in woods, groves, or some dense thicket, where they 

 may hope to bring forth their young with little fear of 

 molestation. 



They commence breeding in March — sometimes before, but 

 seldom later — and have from two to three nests in the year. 

 They usually select a hollow tree in which to rear their edifice, 

 but sometimes avail themselves of the deserted nests of other 

 birds, and especially those of the Magpie. The hen lays from 

 seven to twelve eggs, according to her age and the time of 

 year, but rarely hatches more than seven young ones. The 

 eggs are white, variously marked and spotted with reddish 

 brown, principally at the thickest end. After the young are 

 fully fledged, they never go far away from the locality of their 



