. A history of British birds . suflused with yellow. By Kaup this bird, with the Parus cyanus of EasternEurope and Siberia, has been removed to a genus Cyanistes,which, in the case of the former at least, is quite unnecessary. The fondness for flesh and fat which, as mentioned above,the Bluecap shews is shared by other species of the genusParus, and many persons who delight in watching the actionsof these lively little birds attract them to spots where theycan be conveniently observed by ministering to this mode of enticing them is better than that of hanging alump of suet or tallow b
. A history of British birds . suflused with yellow. By Kaup this bird, with the Parus cyanus of EasternEurope and Siberia, has been removed to a genus Cyanistes,which, in the case of the former at least, is quite unnecessary. The fondness for flesh and fat which, as mentioned above,the Bluecap shews is shared by other species of the genusParus, and many persons who delight in watching the actionsof these lively little birds attract them to spots where theycan be conveniently observed by ministering to this mode of enticing them is better than that of hanging alump of suet or tallow by a short string to the end of a flexi-ble rod stuck aslant into the ground close to the window of asitting-room. It is seldom long before a Titmouse of somekind finds the dainty, and once found visits are constantlymade to it until every morsel is consumed. No other birdcan succeed in keeping a foothold on the swinging lure, butthe strong grasp of a Titmouse renders the feat easy for him. PASSERES. COAL-TITMOUSE 489 Parus ater, LiniiaBus*. THE COAL-TITMOUSE. Parus ater. The Coal-Titmouse or Coal-Mouse, to use its earliestEnglish name!, is almost as generally distributed in this Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p 341 (1766). t So Merrett, in 1667 (Pinax Reruin Naturaliuiu Britannicarum, p. 178),called this bird, latinizing its name Oarbonariua. The French Charbonnicrc,applied to this as well as to the Great Titmouse, equally shews the meaning ofthe word which most later authors have spelt Cole ; Init as it has clearlynothing to do with cole, the plant (as found in co/ewort and co/cseed), and wehave long given up spelling the name of the fuel we burn otherwise than coal ,it is wrong to keep Cole as the distinguishing prefix of this Titmouse. Itmay be urged that the Germans set us the example, writing Kohl-Meise and notKoJdc-Meise; but here the e is doubtless dropped by way of abbreviation oreuphony. It may also be remarked that the second syllable of the word Tit- VOL. T. 3 I^ 90
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