TITMICE. 
One of these call-notes is so soft as to be scarcely audible to 
the human ear ; a second, the sweethearting call, is a sort of 
shrill rattling twitter; and a third, a hoarse croaking note, 
emitted when the bird is jealous or angry. 
The chief malady with which birds of the tit tribe are 
afflicted is epilepsy. The cause is over-feeding and want of 
sufficient exercise. The cure is daily syringing with ice-cold 
water, and two drops of olive-oil every other day in the water 
they drink. Atrophy is another disease to which they are 
liable ; and to cure this they should be plentifully supplied with I 
fresh ants’ eggs. In this latter case, a moderate quantity of 
green stuff — a sprig of watercress or a bit of lettuce-leaf — may j 
be given advantageously . 
bottle-tit’s nest. 
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