218 
NATURAL HISTORY 
Titmouse* ( Parus . PL 36.) The titmouse, which is 
also called the tomtit, is about four inches and a half in 
length, and has a straight black bill about half an inch 
long, pretty thick. The upper part of the head and the 
chin are black, with a large spot of white beginning at 
the base of the bill, and passing under the eyes to the 
sides of the neck; which colour descends as low as the 
shoulders and middle part of the back, where it appeals 
more shaded with a glossy green; the rump is of a fine 
blue. The quill feathers have some of their tips white, 
some blue, others green; the covert-feathers by their white 
tips make a small transverse white line upon each wing. 
The breast, belly, and thighs are yellow, with a broad 
black line passing from the throat down the middle of 
the breast to the vent. The tail is about two inches 
and a half long, of a black colour, except the outward 
edges of some of the feathers which are blue. The 
legs and feet are a sort of lead colour. 
These birds feed on insects, seed, and fruit. They are 
very prolific, laying eighteen or twenty eggs at a time. 
Some of them will venture to assault birds that are twice 
or thrice their own bulk, and in this case they direct their 
aim chiefly at the eyes. They often seize upon birds 
that are weaker than themselves; which they kill, and hav- 
ing picked a hole in their skull, eat out their brains. This 
bird is distinguished above the rest of its kind, by its 
rancour against the owl. 
There are many varieties of this bird; the greater tit- 
mouse is about five inches in length. The nest of almost 
every kind are constructed with the most exquisite art, 
and with materials of the utmost delicacy; such as moss, 
hair, and the web of spiders, with which the whole is 
strongly tied together. 
Humming Bird. ( ' Trochilus . PL 36.) Of this curious 
little bird there are six or seven varieties, from the size 
of a small wren down to that of a humble-bee. The 
smallest humming-bird is about the size of a hazel 
nut. The feathers on its wings and tail are black; but 
those on its body and under its wings, are of a greenish 
brown, with a fine red gloss, which no silk or velvet can 
