"Their nests are found in deep holes in earth-banks, and sometimes in
stone walls. Once a pair took possession of a bamboo in one of our
thatched out-houses--the safest place they could have chosen, as no
hand could get into the small hole by which they entered. These Tits
show great affection and care for their young. While hatching their
eggs, if a hand or stick is put into the nest they rise with enlarged
throats, and, hissing like a snake, peck at it till it is withdrawn.
On one occasion I told my horse-keeper to put his hand into a hole
into which I had seen one of these birds enter. He did so, but soon
drew it out with a scream, saying a 'snake had bit him.' I told him
to try again, but with no better success; he would not attempt it the
third time, so the nest was left with the bold little proprietor, who
no doubt rejoiced to find she had succeeded in frightening away the
unwelcome intruder. The materials used by these birds for their nests
consist of soft hair, downy feathers, and moss, all of which they
collect in large quantities. They build in the months of February and
March; but I once found a nest of young Indian Grey Tits so late as
the 10th November. They lay six eggs, white with light red spots. On
one occasion I saw a nest in a bank by the side of the road; when the
only young bird it contained was nearly fledged the road had to be
widened, and workmen were employed in cutting down the bank. The poor
parent birds appeared to be perfectly aware that their nest would soon
be reached, and after trying in vain to persuade the young one to come
out, they pushed it down into the road but could get it no further,
though they did their utmost to take it out of the reach of danger. I
placed it among the bushes above the road, and then the parents seemed
to be immediately conscious of its safety."
Mr. H.R.P. Carter notes that he "found a nest of the Grey Tit at
Coonoor, on the Nilgiris, on the 15th May. It was placed in a hole in
a bank by the roadside. It was a flat pad, composed of the fur of
the hill-hare, hairs of cattle, &c., and was fluffy and without
consistence. It contained three half-set eggs."
Mr. J. Darling, Jun., says:--"I have found the nests at Ooty, Coonoor,
Neddivattam, and Kartary, at all heights from 5000 to nearly 8000 feet
above the sea, on various dates between 17th February and 10th May.
"It builds in banks, or holes in trees, at all heights from the
ground, from 3 to 30 feet. It is fond of taking possession of the old
nest-holes of the Green Woodpecker. The nest is built of fur or fur
and moss, and always lined with fine fur, generally that of hares. Its
shape depends upon that of the hole in which it is placed, but the
egg-cavity or depression is about 3 inches in diameter and an inch in
depth.
"It lays four, five, and sometimes six eggs, but I think more commonly
only four."
Dr. Jerdon remarks:--"I once found its nest in a deserted bungalow at
Kallia, in the corner of the house. It was made chiefly of the down of
hares (_Lepus nigricollis_), mixed with feathers, and contained six
eggs, white spotted with rusty red."
The eggs resemble in their general character those of many of our
English Tits, and though, I think, typically slightly longer, they
appear to me to be very close to those of _Parus palustris_. In shape
they are a broad oval, but somewhat elongated and pointed towards the
small end. The ground-colour is pinkish white, and round the large end
there is a conspicuous, though irregular and imperfect, zone of red
blotches, spots, and streaks. Spots and specks of the same colour, or
occasionally of a pale purple, are scantily sprinkled over the rest of
the surface of the egg, and are most numerous in the neighbourhood of
the zone. The eggs have a faint gloss. Some eggs do not exhibit the
zone above referred to, but even in these the markings are much more
numerous and dense towards the large end.
In length the eggs vary from 0·65 to 0·78, and in breadth from 0·5 to
0·58; but the average of thirty-eight is 0·71 by 0·54, so that they
are really, as indeed they look _as a body_, a shade shorter and
decidedly broader than those of _P. monticola_.