152 
PAEIDiE. 
order to humour his penchant , I have often nailed small 
pieces of raw meat against the trees in winter, and 
amused myself when storm-stayed in the house, by 
watching his enjoyment. Obstinacy is a remarkable 
trait in his character, and when he has once set his 
mind upon some particular spot in which to make his 
nest, he is only to be driven from it by force and oft- 
repeated failure. I remember one, which had taken a 
fancy to build its nest in the hole under the handle of 
the garden pump, and it was not till its labour had been 
destroyed for many successive days that it abandoned 
the attempt. When once in charge of his eggs or young 
ones, he will stoutly defend them against all intruders, 
first giving you warning that he is on the defensive by 
a snake-like hissing noise, and if you obtrude your 
fingers, by biting them with all his might; and should 
you cruelly deprive him of the object of all his care, 
and forcibly eject him from his home, he will still return 
to its deserted walls for many days to deplore his loss. 
Of this his attachment to some particular spot, Mr. 
Heysham, of Carlisle, has kindly supplied me with the 
following most interesting instance. 
u A few years ago, when upon an entomological ex¬ 
cursion, wishing to examine the decayed stump of a tree 
which was broken to pieces for that purpose, and the 
fragments dispersed to a considerable distance by a severe 
blow, a Blue Titmouse was found sitting upon fourteen 
eggs, in a small cavity of the root, and notwithstanding 
the above severe shock, it remained immovable, till for¬ 
cibly taken off the nest.” 
“ Earl y this spring a pair had taken possession of a 
hole in a tree where the pied-flycatcher had regularly 
built for the last four years, and, being anxious it should 
continue to do so, the nest and eggs were removed, the 
