. The sportsman's British bird book . d plumage, in whicholive or yellow (or both to-gether) is often conspicuous,■v. / \ \ J\ ^^^ short, conical, unnotched \ I 1%. «^k^ \ ^\ beaks, a number of short bristles at the gape, andfeeble rounded wings. In thetypical genus, as represented by the blue and the great titmouse, thehead is without a crest, and the tail short and rounded. In the blue titmouse, which measures 4J, inches in length,the crown of the head is cobalt-blue, girdled with a band of silverywhite, below which is a narrow dark blue strii)c extending fromthe base of the beak to the e
. The sportsman's British bird book . d plumage, in whicholive or yellow (or both to-gether) is often conspicuous,■v. / \ \ J\ ^^^ short, conical, unnotched \ I 1%. «^k^ \ ^\ beaks, a number of short bristles at the gape, andfeeble rounded wings. In thetypical genus, as represented by the blue and the great titmouse, thehead is without a crest, and the tail short and rounded. In the blue titmouse, which measures 4J, inches in length,the crown of the head is cobalt-blue, girdled with a band of silverywhite, below which is a narrow dark blue strii)c extending fromthe base of the beak to the eye, and thence backwards to join abroad circular band running upwards to the nape and downwardsbelow the side of the head and so on to the beak, thus enclosing anoval white patch ; the back of the neck is silvery white tinged withblue ; the back dull green shot with blue ; the wing-coverts, of whichthe greater have white tips, are ultramarine ; the wing-quills havecobalt outer webs and white tips to those of the secondary series ;. TITMOUSK. GREAT TITMOUSE 521 while, with the exception of the silvery-white abdomen, the under-partsare bright sulphur-yellow ; the legs being leaden blue, and the beakblack. Hens are somewhat duller coloured than their mates; andin young birds this dulness is still more noticeable, while there isrelatively less blue and more yellow. Resident throughout the United Kingdom, although apparentlyunknown in the Outer Hebrides, the blue titmouse ranges northwardto latitude 64° in Scandinavia and 61° in Russia, eastwards to theUrals and the Caucasus, and southwards to the Mediterranean. Inautumn large flocks reach the eastern coasts of England from theContinent. One account will serve for the habits of almost all the short-tailedtitmice. Although insects, spiders, etc., form their staple diet, titmicealso eat seeds, and in severe weather almost any kind of food ; inautumn they do much damage to apples and pears, especially the latter,by pecking h
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