42 
British Birds. 
i — T he Great Tit. 2 — 'The Crested Tit. 3 — The Coal Tit. 4 — The Marsh Tit. 
5 — The Bearded Tit. 6 — The Blue Tit. 
here its presence may be detected by its note, 4 too-ee, too-ee,’ many times repeated, 
or by the sound of its hammering on the bark, the blows which it gives being 
remarkably powerful for so small a bird. It runs round the branches like a Creeper, 
prising off the bark to get at the ants and small insects, and often runs on the 
under side of a bough or comes along the trunk for a short distance head-downwards. 
The nest is a very rough structure of a few grasses or dead leaves, and is placed in 
the hole of a wall or of a tree, in the latter case the entrance being plastered up. 
The eggs are from four to eight in number, white, with rufous spots and grey under- 
lying dots. 
These birds are found in nearly every part ot the globe, excepting 
Tup TITS 
the Australian Region and South America from Mexico southwards. 
Family . r , . 
1 h ey a re , h o we ver , m or e numerous in the northern countries ot both 
PARIDSE. ' 
hemispheres, and several species occur in Great Britain. They are 
birds of small size, but have a stout conical bill, with the base covered with feathers. 
The Great Tit ( Parus major). This is the largest British species, and is 
distinguished by its black head, breast, and abdomen, the black on the latter 
parts forming a broad streak, which is less evident in the female than in the male. 
There is a patch of white on the nape as in the Coal Tit, but the large size and 
yellow colouring on the under-surface of the Great Tit, easily serve to distinguish 
the two species. 
The 4 Ox-eye,’ as this bird is frequently called, is a very active little creature, 
and is always in evidence in woods and gardens in the spring, when its lively 
