Wild Birds Useful and Injurious. 
67 
bf their food are numbered aphides, the destructive caterpillars 
of the gooseberry-moth, the grubs of wood-boring beetles, 
the maggots in the round galls on oaks, and apparently the 
caterpillars of the little green oak-moth, the ravages of which 
have already been alluded to. In winter the blue tit has been 
known to visit sheds in which turnips are stored, for the purpose 
of extracting the grubs from the galls so commonly seen on the 
roots. 
Whilst searching for its insect food it sometimes appears 
exceedingly and wantonly mischievous. It may be seen tearing 
the buds or blossoms of fruit trees to pieces in a reckless manner 
and most capriciously, for after a cursory survey it will leave 
one tree and then subject to a prolonged investigation another 
to all appearance exactly similar. There is, however, method 
enough in this procedure, for it is not the buds or blossoms 
themselves that are so eagerly sought for, but the eggs or grubs 
of insects with which they are so often infested. From their 
minute size these pests escape human observation, but the keen 
vision of the tit enables it to detect them. It is scarcely 
necessary to add that the insects, if unmolested, would not only 
destroy the buds and blossoms, but would produce a countless 
progeny as rapacious as themselves. I witnessed not long ago 
a good instance of this apparently destructive propensity. 
Some blue tits were busily engaged in a willow, stripping the 
catkins from the twigs, and showering them down on to the 
road, chuckling to themselves at intervals with evident delight. 
The whole performance looked as if it were a piece of exuberant 
mischief, but on examining some of the catkins scattered on the 
road I noticed dark-brown channels in their centres, and on 
gathering further specimens from the willow the secret of the 
tits’ satisfaction was revealed. For in many of them a little 
white grub was ensconced, eating out the core of the catkin. 
It was impossible to resist the idea that chuckles of exceptional 
vivacity heralded the discovery of grubs of more than ordinary 
dimensions. 
A fancy for bees occasionally brings the bluecap into dis- 
repute with the bee-keeper, for, especially in the winter and 
spring, the bird will alight at the mouth of the hive and by 
tapping on the board entice the inmates to venture outside. It 
then carries them away, one at a time, to be devoured at leisure. 
Another instance of the intelligent enterprise which it displays 
in its search for food is its habit of examining street-lamps, for 
in common with entomologists it is well aware how attractive 
the light is to insects. In noticing this habit, the Rev. H. A. 
Macpherson says, ‘ I spied a blue titmouse alight on a lamp- 
f 2 
\mL . 
