. The boy and the birds . ve underneath thebranches, we are here and there and every-where, worming out the little insect whichyou cannot see ; but which, if it were allow- 36 THE GREAT AND LITTLE TIT. ed to live, would spoil half your summerverdure. I would not take away from themerit of many of the birds of passage,which are also very useful in clearing yourtrees of hurtful insects ; but pray bear inmind, that they leave the fields for half theyear; and that, from autumn to spring,we, the tits, are the chief guardians of yourwoods. While our summer warblers are enjoyingthemselves, nobody kno
. The boy and the birds . ve underneath thebranches, we are here and there and every-where, worming out the little insect whichyou cannot see ; but which, if it were allow- 36 THE GREAT AND LITTLE TIT. ed to live, would spoil half your summerverdure. I would not take away from themerit of many of the birds of passage,which are also very useful in clearing yourtrees of hurtful insects ; but pray bear inmind, that they leave the fields for half theyear; and that, from autumn to spring,we, the tits, are the chief guardians of yourwoods. While our summer warblers are enjoyingthemselves, nobody knows where, moths laytheir eggs in the infant buds; and if it werenot for us, shoot and blossom would both begone before they return. The eggs wouldbe hatched; the young worm would havecome forth, and then, alas, for the pleasantgreen shade! But that is our province:we watch the buds from autumn to spring ;and, though nobody may thank us, we knowvery well how much of the beauty of sum-mer is our work. Long Ufe to the tits !. LOIJG-TATLKD Ull. THE LONG-TAILED TIT. Somebody tells me, that a conceited cousinof mine, the great tit, or parus major, hastaken upon him to be the biographer of ourtribe. He has a very good right to speakfor himself; and, if he chooses, to speakfor his cousin, the blue tit; but I intend tohave a page to myself. I do not choose tobe confounded with the tits of all shapesand sizes. / that have a tail three incheslong ; and carry the feathers on my headhalf erect, like a crest! Besides, I haveno blue or yellow about me; but ratherincline to a pale rose-red on the sides ofmy back, and under my body, and havea nice white breast, passing into pale ash- 38 THE LONG-TATLED TIT. grey. But I know that my habits are notsuch as make men very famihar with other birds are flying from one fieldto another, I am beating about a bush ortree all day long for insects. The boys, however, know me, and callme Long Tom, Poke-pudding, and BottleTit; and I am a. curiosity,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookidboybirds, booksubjectbirds
