THE BEARDED TITMOUSE. 
739 
adhering thereto. No other birds, hardly, destroy so 
many insects as these ever-hungry and active creatures. 
They are fully capable of clearing gardens and woods 
from noxious insects, and would do so more efficiently 
than they do, did not man add his name to the list of 
their numerous enemies, and capture them by hundreds : 
this is effected by the Titmouse-hut or trap, previously 
described, and which I look upon as a monument of the 
most cowardly stupidity. A “forester” actually once 
said to me: “ Tomtits are very useful, but they are rare 
good eating thus trying to excuse the great damage 
he brought about with these very traps. We acknow¬ 
ledge the utility of these birds, the inestimable good they 
do us, and yet persist in destroying them, because they 
produce a dish which pleases the fanciful taste of the 
gourmand! 
Titmice are birds of passage, as well as resident. They 
travel in bands, different species mixing together; they 
also associate with birds belonging to other families, such 
as Woodpeckers and Treecreepers: their journeys are, 
however, limited in extent, and they soon return home 
again. 
The Bearded Tit is about seven inches long, and eight 
inches across the wings. Its plumage is soft as silk, the 
colouring delicate and pleasing to the eye. The head 
of the male is pale, ash-gray blue; the back and 
upper part of the tail cinnamon-brown; the under parts 
are of a pale rosy red; a black moustache runs down¬ 
wards, from the base of the beak and the eye; across the 
wings there is a white band, black on the lower edge; 
the lower tail-coverts are of a deep black. The female is 
less in size than the male; pale ash-gray on the head; 
the neck, back and shoulders are of a grayish red-yellow, 
5 E 
