TISSUES, VEGETABLE. See CELLULAR TISSUE, VASCULAR TISSUE, and VEGETABLE TISSUES.
TIT, or TITMOUSE, Parus a genus of birds of the order insessores, tribe conirostres, and family porkies. The porkies are small birds, of which there are more than' 50 known species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. They are more numerous in cold and temperate than in tropical regions, those which are found within the tropics being mostly inhabitants of elevated mountainous districts. The bill is small, short, somewhat conical, the tip entire, the base beset with hairs, and the nostrils generally concealed by feathers. The wings are not very long, but are pointed; the tail is rounded or even; the tarsi long, slender, scaled in front, the inner toe shortest, the claws long and curved. The plumage is beautiful, often gay. The popular name tit and titmouse are very generally given to all the panda% They are bold sprightly birds, extremely active, flitting from branch to branch, running rapidly along branches in quest of insects, and often clinging to the under-side of branches with their back downward. They feed not only on insects but on grain and seeds, have no objection to carrion, and sometimes kill young and sickly birds by strokes of their bill. They are very pugnacious, and the female tit shows great courage in defense of her nest, often continuing to sit when the nest is approached, and vigorously assailing the intruding hand with her bill. In winter many of the species gather into small flocks, and approach houses and villages, competing with sparrows and chaffinches for a share of the food of domestic poultry. Most of the tits lay at least six eggs, some of them twelve or more, and even in temperate countries they often produce two broods in a. year. They generally build in trees. The young are fed chiefly on caterpillars. A pair of blue tits have been observed to carry a caterpillar to their nest, on an average, every two minutes during the day, qo that these birds must be extremely useful in pre venting the multiplication of noxious insects. Seven species are found in Britain, but
one of them, the CRESTED TIT (parus cristatus) is a mere accidental visitor. The GREAT TIT (P. major) is the largest European species. It is common in almost all parts of Europe. It is not quite six inches long; the head and throat are black; the cheeks are white; the back, breast, and sides yellowish; the wings and tail grayish. Its usual note is a kind of chatter, but it sometimes imitates the notes of other birds. The Bum: TIT (P. caruleus) and the COLE TIT (P. ater) are very common in Britain. The blue tit is perhaps the most pert and audacious of all the British species. It very generally receives the familiar name of tomtit. The upper part of the head is light blue, and a bluish tinge prevails in the plumage. The LONG-TAILED TIT (parus caudatus), common in Britain, has the tail about as long as the body. Its head is white, contrasting beauti fully with the deep black of the back; the tail is also black, with white edges. The nest of this bird is a beautiful structure, of moss and wool externally covered with lichens, and profusely lined with feathers, nearly oval, with a small hole in the upper part of one side. Still more interesting is the nest of the PENDULINE TIT (aegithalua pendulinus) of the s. of Europe, which in form resembles a flask, and is generally sus pended at the end of a flexible twig, in a situation near to or overhanging water. It is nicely woven of fibers of bark and the down of willow or poplar catkins, and the open ing is in the side. The CHICKADEE or BLACK-CAP TIT (parus atricapillus) is very com mon in North America. The TUFTED TIT (lophophanes bicolor) is the largest American species. See CHICKADEE.