THE TITMOUSE.
[To THE EDITOR Of THE " SPECTATOR."]
Sin,—The old English name appears in Spenser's lines (quoted by Dr. Johnson) :- "The nightingale is sovereign of song, Before him sits the titmouse silent by."
The prefix " torn " certainly is inappropriate to the hen.tit. Here in Oxfordshire, the male bird of any kind is called the " tora-bird ;" hence, perhaps, the origin of the name "tomtit." May I add one more illustration of the habits of these clever little birds P We have known them build over the barrel of a pump in our field. The nest was so placed that when the pump was used, there was necessarily a rising and falling motion; but neither the nest nor its living contents suffered, for this fragile nursery was so constructed as not to be washed away through the spout of the pump. Your correspondent's anecdote of the hen and kittens is exceedingly interesting, and more remarkable than the fact, witnessed at a village near this town, of a cock taking charge of his deceased wife's chickens, and rearing them with motherly tenderness and care.---I am, Sir, &c.,
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