THE TITMOUSE. 
29 
to everybody; they might be called our minor Jack- 
daws, so pert and bustling, — never at rest, — always 
prying about, peering into every little chink and 
cranny, — and, even in the breeding season, when 
most birds retire to more unfrequented haunts, still 
lurking about our homesteads, and placing their 
nests in the oddest and sometimes most conspicuous 
situations. Thus, a pair of Titmice ( Varus cceru - 
leus), built their nest in the upper part of an old 
pump, fixing it on the pin in which the handle 
worked. It happened, that during the time of build- 
ing and laying the eggs, the pump had not been in 
use ; when again set going, the female was sitting, 
and it was naturally supposed, that the motion of 
the pump-handle would drive her away. The young 
brood, however, were hatched safely, without any other 
misfortune than the loss of a part of the tail of the 
sitting-bird, which was rubbed off by the friction of 
the pump-handle. The opening for the pump-, 
handle seems, indeed, to be a favourite spot, not- 
withstanding its danger, as we knew of another pair 
of Titmice, who, for several days, persevered in in- 
serting close upon the point of the handle, the 
materials for a nest, though, every time the handle 
was raised, they were either crushed or forced out, 
till the patience of the persevering little builders 
was fairly exhausted. 
Another pair of the same species established 
themselves in a still more singular, though certainly 
less frequented spot, neither more nor less than in 
the mouth of the skeleton of a man, who had been 
hung in chains for murder. Another pair, of a dif- 
ferent species ( Varus major), had wisely fortified 
