TITMICE.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Srn,—The interesting letters that have of late been appearing in your columns—letters in which various correspondents have given details of their personal experience with these faa-
cinating little acrobats of the air—have prompted me to offer you my own experience also.
For the last three winters, as soon as the weather has be- come severe, I have seen that the titmice are fed regularly. This is done by taking about a quarter-of-a-pound of suet and winding round it some common white string, so as to hold it together firmly. The ball-shaped mass thus formed is fastened to one end of another bit of the same sort of string, about three yards in length. Then the suet is thrown over the bough of an ash-tree in the centre of the lawn, and the other end of the string is attached securely to one of its branches. In this way the suet is suspended in mid-air, about five feet from the ground, in such a manner that the weight of a titmouse alighting upon it always causes it to turn round and round slowly. The brave titmice soon find out the suet, and seem not at all disconcerted by this constant motion. It rarely happens that more than one bird at a time is feeding, and I never see anything resembling a quarrel as to which should have the first opportunity of pecking, although two, and not nnfrequently as many as five, titmice are in the immediate vicinity. Occasionally the titmice cling to the top of the lump of suet, but their favourite method is to fly direct to the string underneath the suet, and hang on to it by their claws. In this posture they industriously peck for several minutes, feeling apparently no discomfort either from the rotatory movement or from the fact of their being upside down! They like the suet best when it is somewhat stale. For several days after the lamp of suet is consumed, they return to the ash-tree, cling on to the string still remaining there, and eat the infinitesimal pieces of suet adhering to it. The ash-tree is opposite my study window, and my keen interest in the gymnastics of the titmice has sometimes interrupted my work.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Previous page
