The instinct just alluded to is manifested also in the house, even when they have abundance of all kinds of food; where they are observed to rob the other birds of seeds and bits of nuts, and run and hide them immediately in any crevices they may find, often visiting these stolen stores afterwards to see if they are safe. The blue tit and the oxeye are also accustomed to carry part of their food into a corner, but they do not hide with so much care, or from the same cause, as the cole tit. These birds are commonly fed on the universal paste, but they are accustomed to it with difficulty. BREEDING.--This species generally places its nest either in some hole deserted by a mole or mouse, or under the overhanging edges of some deep wheel-rut in an old disused road, rarely in holes of trees or walls. The nest is composed of a layer of moss covered over with the fur of the hare, roe-buck, and stag. There are two broods in the year, each of six or eight white eggs, prettily speckled with pale red. The plumage of the young differs from that of the old only in having the black duller and less glossy. DISEASES.--Decline is the most common disorder of these birds, and it is sometimes prevented by giving them fresh ants' eggs, particularly when moulting. I kept a cole tit six years, and it then died of old age, having first become blind, and been often attacked with vertigo or giddiness. MODE OF TAKING.--Less timid and distrustful than the oxeye, this species may be caught with greater ease. A limed twig fastened to a pole is often sufficient, with which you approach the tree on which the bird is, and, touching it with the twig, it becomes your prisoner. Its call is "_tzip teune_." Like all the tits, it is delicate, and, in the house, often dies soon before being accustomed to the common paste. ATTRACTIVE QUALITIES.--This is a very amusing little bird; bold, lively always in motion, hopping and fluttering about continually. Its song is only a clashing of harsh tones, relieved by a clear sonorous "_tzifi_," repeated twenty times in succession. It sometimes ends, however, with so reflective an air, that you would think it was going to give something very fine. THE BLUE TIT, OR TOM TIT. [Illustration] Parus cæruleus, LINNÆUS; La Mésange bleue, BUFFON; Der Blaumeise, BECHSTEIN. This pretty bird is four inches and a half long, of which the tail measures two. The beak is three lines in length, and dusky, but whitish at the edges and tip; the iris is dark brown; the shanks are eight lines high, and lead blue; the front of the head and cheeks are white; a white line passing from the forehead above the eyes forms a border to the fine sky-blue of the top of the head; a black line crosses the eyes; the black of the throat becomes on the sides of the neck a dark blue band, which surrounds the head.