“No, except perhaps occasionally on a few seeds, such as those of hemp. The bird requires animal food; small insects of all kinds, their eggs and larvæ, suit it best. Its appetite for prey is so keen that it has the courage to attack little, disabled birds or those caught in snares, pecking at their skulls and greedily devouring their brains. It is true that the titmouse is remarkably courageous despite its smallness of size; it is extremely quick and quarrelsome, and a regular little ogre in time of famine. Its beak is conical, strong, short, and pointed; and its claws end in hooked nails designed for seizing their victims, like the talons of birds of prey. With these the bird grasps its food and conveys it to its beak, like the parrot. “At the end of the brooding season the tomtits all assemble in companies of one or two families each and travel together by short stages. These companies appear to have a leader, probably the father or the mother, and every now and then they are called together from one tree to another, after which they separate again, only to reunite once more at the leader’s summons. Their flight is short and irregular: they scatter through the woods, gardens, fields, and orchards, inspecting trees and bushes on the way and picking up larvæ and insects. “The titmouse family is made up of many species. We have eight in our country, but I shall speak only of the principal ones. “The coal-tit is the largest, being of about the redbreast’s size. It is bluish gray on the back and yellow underneath. The head is of a beautiful glossy black, and a wide stripe of the same color runs down the middle of the chest and stomach and around the eyes, which are also set off by a large white spot. The large wing-feathers are edged with ashy blue.