THE TITS. 
87 
in gardens, it is well to remember that the Great Tit is fond of nuts and the 
ripest sides of apples. He must be a churlish gardener, however, who shoots this 
active interesting bird. The country folk call it “ Sit-ye-down,” because it utters 
three cheerful notes at times not unlike these words. 
The Blue Tit (Pams cceruleus ) is to be seen everywhere—in the hedgerow, 
at the stackyard, near kitchen doors, in gardens ; and everywhere it is conspicuous 
for its bustling activity, its quaint modes of hanging on branches, and its extreme 
beauty. Were it less common, this latter quality would be more prized. Its 
head is blue tinged with white, back olive-green, breast yellow traversed by a 
dark blue line, while its saucy carriage and bright eye greatly enhance its 
attractions. “ Besides insects,” says White, “ it is very fond of flesh, for it 
frequently picks bones on dunghills. It is a vast admirer of suet, and haunts 
butchers’ shops. When a boy, I have known twenty caught in a morning with 
snap mouse-traps baited with tallow or suet. It will also pick holes in apples 
left on the ground, and be well entertained with the seeds on the head of a 
sunflower.” They do far more good than harm, however, in a garden by clearing 
buds of insects. Its nest is generally built in a hole in a wall ; an old post or 
tree are also favourite places. The eggs are from seven or eight in number to 
as many as sixteen, or even eighteen, like the Great Tit’s, but smaller. The 
mother bird defends her nest with great fierceness, erecting the feathers on her 
head and hissing, even biting the fingers which would lay hold of her. She is 
a most affectionate parent, and will return to the same resting-place, if unmolested, 
for many years. A curious story is told by Professor Newton of this tendency. 
From about 1779 to 1873 a pair of these birds built their nest in a large earthen¬ 
ware bottle which had been originally placed to dry in the branches of a tree 
near Stockton-on-Tees. In this they had safely reared and hatched their young year 
after year, save in one season, owing through an oversight to the bottle not having 
been cleared of their old nest; and on a second year they were forestalled in 
their home by a pair of Great Tits. The Blue Tit is found in every county of 
the kingdom, in Asia Minor, and over the greater part of Europe up to 
Trondhjem, in Norway. An easy method to watch its antics is to suspend a lump 
of suet by a string from a bough or a stick stuck slanting in the earth. No other 
bird can maintain itself on the swinging dainty. His call-notes can scarcely be 
called a song. Even in spring he is only more noisy than usual. 
The next member of the family which may most frequently be seen, especially 
at the edges of plantations or in coppices, is the Cole Tit (Parus ater), or Coal 
