V f
PARUS ATER.
Coal Tit.
Parus ater, Linn. Syst. Nat., tom. i. p. 341.
atricapillus, Briss. Orn., tom. iii. p. 551.
— carbonarius, Pall. Zoogr., tom. i. p. 556.
Pacile ater, Kaup, Naturl. Syst., p. 114 .
I cannot agree with some o f my cotemporaries when they state that this bird is less numerous in the
British Islands than the Marsh- or Blue T its ; for my own experience tells me that it is certainly more
abundant than the former, if not as numerous as the latter. Mr. Rodd states that it is common in the
w o o * of Cornwall, particularly in those o f the eastern parts o f that county. Mr. Selby informs us that it is
abundant m all the pine-forests o f Scotland. Thompson, in his -Birds of Ireland,’ speaks o f its universal
distribution over that island; and I may affirm from my own observation, that in England it matters little
m a m ■ .V,Slted’ .0r " ’hat sltuati0" s are nunbled over, whether it be the wood, the coppice, or the
shrubbery, there will the bird be found. Everywhere, however, it evinces a preference for extensive woods of
beech and oak, to the topmost outlying branches o f which trees it habitually resorts, and there displays its
graceful actions, flitting or fluttering from spray to spray, peering beneath the leaves, and clinging in many
elegant positions to the very extremities o f the tender shoots—the ornamental patch o f white on its poll
offering a conspicuous contrast to the black of the head and neck. Its every movement is in accordance
with those of the other members o f the genus, and it is as graceful in all its actions as in its disposition it is
pert and lively. #•
On the continent of Europe, all the countries, from the Mediterranean to Sweden and Norway, may include
it in their avi-fauna. I t certainly proceeds as far east as the Crimea; and Pennant slates that it is found in
Siberia, which is very probable, as Captain Blakiston has just brought a bird from Northern Japan, which
exhibits no perceptible specific differences; strange to say, however, we have no positive evidence that it
has ever been found in the Himalayas or in the peninsula of India. As the Blue Tit (Pams cterulms) has a
representative in North Africa in the P . ultramarinus, so has the present species in the P . Ledoucii-, these
representative species, which live between the great Atlas ranges and the sea, are very interesting. It will be
found that the young o f the P . ater has yellow cheeks and nape, and that this colour is also slightly suffused
over the abdomen; in the P . Ledoucii this colouring is characteristic o f the adults: and thus the young o f one
species closely assimilates to the old o f the o th e r ; no ornithologist will, however, doubt the specific distinct-
ness o f P. ater and P . Ledoucii.
There is no perceptible difference in the colouring o f the sexes; but they are subject to a.slight seasonal
change, the colours in summer and winter not being alike. In January the back is olive; in June it is bluish
grey, and the general hues o f the plumage are much darker than in winter. Some difference occurs between
specimens from Germany and those killed in the British Islands; the birds from the former country, and
probably those from all other parts o f the Continent, are o f larger size and more finely coloured than our own.
In winter, the food o f the Coal T it consists o f insects o f various kinds in every stage o f their existence,
from the larva to the imago s ta te ; in summer, flies, aphides, even caterpillars, &c., to which are added small
seeds, berries, and the kernels o f such stone fruits as it can open with its little conical bill. The young,
during the time they are in the nest, are fed entirely upon insects; after they are able to fly and gain their
own livelihood, they capture them for themselves, and, as may be readily supposed, a brood o f eight o r ten
o f these prying and active little creatures must devour many thousands every hour while such feasting lasts:
in winter, their insect food is sought for in the curled-up leaves, the crevices o f the bark of trees, and similar
situations; spiders, in particular, fall a prey to the Coal Tit a t this season.
A more than usually severe winter is likely to drive the bird to more southern climes: but this remark
applies to the Continental individuals rather than to our own; for, however severe the winter may be, the
bird in this country holds its own.
A nest taken at Formosa in Berkshire, on the 21st of May, I860, was sigularly thick and compact, measuring
a t least an inch and a half through. The materials o f which it was composed did not present the
usual layered appearance, but seemed to be thoroughly matted or felted together; the body o f the nest was
mainly constructed of wool, cows’ hair, and a few downy feathers; the outside was thinly coated with dried
moss.
Another nest taken on the 17th o f May, 1861, from a summerhouse in the same garden, presented a
similar felted appearance, the various materials of moss, fine hair, and wool being all mixed together into a