OF BIRDS. 
1/3 
vantage c! their diftrefied and defencelefs fituation, 
an( l, f .‘-h° u gh they fhould be of their own fpecies, 
they pierce their fkulls, and feed upon their brairds. 
T r is fpecies of cruelty feems hnplanted in their 
nature, and to influence them when they are not 
urged by want ; for in a cage, when they are 
fupplied with food in abundance, they will ftiil 
praefife this unneceflary aCt of violence. 
I heir food is very various. They will eat 
nuts, almonds, kernels, chefnuts, figs, hemp- 
feed, hay-feeds, and a variety of finall grains j 
they are fond too of blood, carrion, fat, fuet, 
and tallow. 
In winter, if there be placed upon a wdndow- 
fill, fome hemp-feed in a little box, wdthout a lid, 
and fome fuet in a net, the Titmice will be at¬ 
tracted in confiderable numbers ; their manner of 
taking the kernel out of the feed, which they 
place between their feet, and hammer w'ith the 
bill, and the thievifh adivity which they difeover 
in feizing this grateful plunder, is very amufing. 
The Titmice are a very prolific Genus ; they lay 
from 18 to 20 eggs; fome of them make their 
nefls in holes of trees, employing their little beaks 
to give them a form fuitable to their purpofe, and 
others build theirs in an oval form, very large, 
and well adapted for fo great a number of eggs; 
H 3 fome 
