TITS. 
45 1 
Marsh-Tit. 
Blue-Tit. 
coal - tit is an inquisitive bird; and we have known one voluntarily enter an 
empty mouse-trap, apparently tempted only by curiosity. The adult male has the 
crown black ; a distinct white patch adorns the nape ; the sides of the head are pure 
white, the upper-parts slaty blue, the throat black, the centre of the body 
whitish, and the flanks buff. 
Generally frequenting gardens, orchards, and woods near swampy 
ground, the marsh-tit (P. palustris ) displays a marked partiality for 
rabbits’ fur as a nesting material; some nests being almost entirely composed of it. 
One taken from a hole in a birch-tree was compact, cup-shaped, smooth both exter¬ 
nally and internally, and mainly composed of rabbits’ fur, interwoven on the inner 
side with minute chips of dried grasses, and on the outer side with fine moss; while 
another from Berkshire was a thick matted structure of moss and dogs’ hair, the 
moss predominating on the outside and the hair inside. The eggs are pure white, 
dotted all over with red. The adult male has the crown glossy black, the sides of 
the neck white, the back greyish brown, the throat black, the wings and tail 
greyish brown, and the breast white tinged with buff. 
Common in most parts of Europe, where it frequents gardens, 
orchards, and the neighbourhood of houses, the blue-tit (P. cosruleus ) 
is a familiar bird, and often exhibits its antics in full view of any passer-by. Its 
laughing call-note is well known to every schoolboy, and scarcely less so are its 
nest and eggs. Rearing its young in a great variety of situations, the same site 
being resorted to for many generations, the blue tit often nests in a hole upon the 
ground, while a pair have-been known to rear their brood in the steeple of a church. 
The blue tit sits very close upon its eggs, which, like those of other tits, are white 
spotted with pale red. Both the present species and the great tit are migratory in 
their habits, not only crossing the North Sea upon their journeys, but sometimes 
venturing into the heart of London. The forehead is white; the crown, back of 
the neck, and collar are bright blue; the back is yellowish green; the wings and 
tail are blue; the throat is dusky black and the under-parts are pure yellow. 
Another member of the family that calls for notice, on account of 
the beauty of its plumage, is the azure tit (P. cyaneus) of Siberia, 
which occasionally wanders into Europe, having been captured more than once in 
the neighbourhood of the Russian capital. According to an account of its habits 
published by Dr. Dybowski, it appears that this tit breeds in holes in old trees, 
especially willows, sometimes making use of a deserted woodpecker’s nest. The 
nest is composed of the fur of the white hare and squirrel, with a few pieces of 
slender grass. The azure tit lays ten or eleven eggs; and one nest is on record 
composed of dried green moss intermixed with fine cow-hair. The eggs are white, 
spotted with dull red at the larger end. The adult male has the head snowy white, 
appearing in life as if powdered over with blue; the back is pale bluish grey ; the 
upper tail-coverts are Prussian blue tipped with white; the wings are greyish 
brown, white at the base of the inner web, and the outer web Prussian blue; while 
the tail is very long and bright Prussian blue, with the exception of the outer 
feathers, which are white, as are the lower-parts. 
Originally included in the typical genus, the crested tit (Loyh- 
The Crested. Tits o »/ ^ 1 o v 1 
ophanes cristatus ) of Northern Europe, is now generally considered 
Azure Tit. 
