Part 16

_Parus carolinensis_, AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 474, pl. clx.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 152, pl. cxxvii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 392; Review, 81.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 13, no. 81. _Pœcile carolinensis_, BON. Consp. 1850, 230.

SP. CHAR. Second quill appreciably longer than secondaries. Tail very little rounded. Length about 4.50 inches; wing less than 2.50; tail, 2.40. Back brownish-ash. Head above, and throat, black, separated on sides of head by white. Beneath white; brownish-white on sides. Outer tail-feathers, primaries, and secondaries, not edged with white.

HAB. South Atlantic and gulf region of United States, north to Washington, D. C., Texas and the Mississippi Valley; north to Central Illinois; the only species in the southern portion of the latter State.

This species is, in general, rather smaller than _P. atricapillus_, although the tail and wing appear to be of much the same size. The body and feet are, however, smaller, and the extent of wing is three quarters of an inch less. The bill is apparently shorter and stouter.

The primaries are proportionally and absolutely considerably longer than the secondaries in the present species, the difference being .55 of an inch, instead of .45. The tail is rather more rounded, the feathers narrower.

The tail is considerably shorter than the wing, instead of longer; the black of the throat extends much farther back, is more dense and more sharply defined behind, than in _atricapillus_. Taking into view these differences, and others of color, we feel justified in retaining this as a species distinct from _atricapillus_, and, in fact, having _meridionalis_ as its nearest relative (see Synoptical Table). Both this species and _atricapillus_ are found together in the Middle States, each preserving its characteristics.

HABITS. South of the once famous line of Mason and Dixon this smaller counterpart of the Chickadee seems to entirely replace it, although in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and occasionally even as far to the north as New York City, the two occur together. Its range is presumed to be all the States south of the Potomac and the Ohio, as far to the west as the Rio Grande. It was probably this species, and not the _atricapillus_, which was met with by Dr. Woodhouse in the Indian Territory. Without much doubt it breeds in all the States south of Pennsylvania.

In Southern Illinois, as far north in the Wabash Valley as the mouth of White River, this is the only species, unless the _P. atricapillus_ occasionally occurs in winter. Specimens from this region are undistinguishable from those taken in Georgia and the extreme Southern States, and do not present the peculiar features of _P. atricapillus_. It is a very abundant species, and resident, being in winter one of the most common, as well as one of the most familiar birds, inhabiting _all_ localities, giving preference neither to swampy woods nor to door-yards, for it is as often seen in one place as another. It is never gregarious, though many may often be seen or heard at the same moment. It begins incubation early in April, generally selecting the wild plum and red-bud trees in the woods. This species very often constructs its own nesting-places, and the soft wood of these trees is very easily excavated. The excavation is generally made in a horizontal dead limb, with the opening on the under side; this is neat and regular, and as elaborate as those of any of the woodpeckers. Sometimes, however, a natural cavity is selected, frequently in a prostrate stump or “snag.” The nest is almost always a very elaborate structure, being a strong compact cup or bed of “felt,” whose main material is rabbit-fur and cow-hair.

In its habits it seems to resemble more closely the _P. palustris_ of Europe than the _atricapillus_, being generally found only in the immediate vicinity of ponds and deep, marshy, moist woods. It is also rarely found other than singly or in pairs, the parent birds, unlike most of this family, separating from their young soon after the latter are able to provide for themselves. It rarely or never moves in flocks.

Their notes are said to be less sonorous and less frequent than those of our Black-capped Titmouse. In the winter a portion retire from the coast in South Carolina into the interior of the State and into Florida, where Mr. Audubon found them, in the winter of 1831 and 1832, much more abundant than he had ever seen them elsewhere. He found them breeding as early as February, occasionally in the nests deserted by the Brown-headed Nuthatch. A nest obtained by Dr. Bachman from a hollow stump, about four feet from the ground, was in form cup-shaped, measuring two inches internally in diameter at the mouth, and three externally, with a depth of two inches. It was constructed of cotton, fine wool, a few fibres of plants, and so elaborately felted together as to be of uniform thickness throughout.

Mr. Audubon was in error in regard to the eggs, which he describes as pure white. Their ground-color is of pure crystalline whiteness, but they are freely and boldly marked all over with deep reddish-brown and red spots. These, so far as we have compared the eggs, are larger, more numerous, and more deeply marked than are any eggs of the _atricapillus_ we have ever met with.

According to the observations of the late Dr. Alexander Gerhardt of Whitfield County, Georgia, these birds usually breed in holes that have been previously dug out by the _Picus pubescens_, or in decaying stumps not more than five or six feet from the ground. He never met with its nest in living trees. The eggs are from five to seven in number, and are usually deposited in Georgia from the 10th to the last of April.

The eggs of this species are slightly larger than those of the _atricapillus_, and the reddish-brown blotches with which they are profusely covered are much more distinctly marked. They are of a spheroidal oval in shape, have a pure white ground, very uniformly and generally sprinkled with blotches of a reddish-brown. They measure .60 by .50 of an inch.

Parus rufescens, TOWNS.

CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE.

_Parus rufescens_, TOWNSEND, J. A. N. Sc. Phil. VII, II, 1837, 190.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 371, pl. cccliii.—IB. Birds Am. 1841, 158, pl. cxxix.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 394; Review, 83.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep. XII, II, 1859, 194 (nesting).—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 86.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska).—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 47. _Pœcile rufescens_, BONAP. Consp. 1850, 230.

SP. CHAR. Whole head and neck above, and throat from bill to upper part of breast, sooty blackish-brown. Sides of head and neck, upper part of breast, and middle of body, white; back and sides dark brownish-chestnut. Length, 4.75 inches; wing, 2.36; tail, 2.16.

HAB. Western United States, near Pacific coast.

HABITS. The Chestnut-backed Titmouse was first obtained by Townsend on the banks of the Columbia River, and described in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy. It is a resident, throughout the year, of the forests of the Columbia, and is found throughout California. Like all of this familiar family, they may be seen in small flocks, of all ages, in the autumn and winter, moving briskly about, uttering a number of feeble querulous notes, after the manner of the _atricapillus_, but never joining in anything like the quaint and jingling song of that bird. They occasionally have a confused warbling chatter. These busy little groups may be often seen in company with the _Parus occidentalis_ and the _Regulus satrapa_, moving through the bushes and thickets, carefully collecting insects, their larvæ and eggs, for a few moments, and then flying off for some other place. They are supposed to rear their young in the midst of the densest forests.

Mr. Nuttall states that when the gun thins their ranks the survivors display surprising courage and solicitude, following their destroyer with wailing cries, entreating for their companions.

Dr. Gambel found the young of this species in great abundance around Monterey in the fall and winter months. Dr. Heermann saw them in June, 1852, feeding their young in the vicinity of San Francisco, where, however, they are rare.

In Washington Territory, Dr. Cooper found this the most abundant species. It preferred the dense evergreens, where large parties could be found at all seasons busily seeking food among the leaves and branches, ascending even to the highest tops. They were usually in company with the _Reguli_ and the other Titmice. Mr. Bischoff found them abundant at Sitka.

They nest, like all the others of this genus, in holes in soft decayed trunks and large limbs of trees a few feet from the ground. Their eggs are not as yet known.

Parus hudsonicus, FORST.

HUDSON’S BAY CHICKADEE; BROWN-CAPPED CHICKADEE.

_Parus hudsonicus_, FORSTER, Philos. Trans. LXII, 1772, 383, 430.— AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 543, pl. cxciv.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 155, pl. cxxviii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 395; Review, 82.—SAMUELS, 185.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska). _Parus hudsonicus_ var. _littoralis_, BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. N. H. IX. 1863, 368.

SP. CHAR. Above yellowish olivaceous-brown; top of head purer brown, not very different in tint. Chin and throat dark sooty-brown. Sides of head white. Beneath white; sides and anal region light brownish-chestnut. No whitish on wings or tail. Tail nearly even, or slightly emarginate and rounded. Lateral feathers about .20 shortest. Length about 5 inches; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.66.

HAB. Northern portions of North America, from Atlantic to Pacific.

Specimens from the most northern localities appear larger than those from Maine and Nova Scotia (_P. littoralis_, BRYANT), with proportionally longer tails (3.00 inches, instead of 2.40). We can, however, detect no other difference.

The _Parus sibiricus_ of Europe is very similar in coloration and characters to the _P. hudsonicus_. The principal difference is seen in the cheeks, which in _sibiricus_ are pure white, this color extending along the entire side of the neck, widening behind, and extending round towards the back. In _hudsonicus_ the cheeks behind the eyes and sides of the neck are ash-gray, the white being confined to the region below or near the eye. The smoky-gray of the upper part of head and neck in _sibiricus_ is in a stronger contrast with the brighter rufescent-gray of the back, and is separated from it by an obscure, concealed, whitish dorsal half-collar, represented in _hudsonicus_ only by a dull grayish shade in the plumage.

HABITS. This interesting species, one of the liveliest and most animated of its family, belongs to the northern and eastern sections of North America. It is found in the eastern and northern portions of Maine, and probably also in the northern parts of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In the heavily wooded mountain-valley of Errol, in the latter State, Mr. Maynard met with this bird in the latter part of October, in company with the common _atricapillus_. In the same month he also obtained two birds in Albany, in the northwestern corner of Maine. A single specimen was taken at Concord, Massachusetts, October 29, by Mr. William Brewster.

Near Calais it is resident, but not common. It is more abundant in the islands of the Bay of Fundy, where it takes the place, almost exclusively, of the _atricapillus_. The writer first met with these lively little wood-sprites in 1850, in the thick swampy woods which cover one of the small islands near Grand Menan. Their general appearance as they flitted through the woods, or rustled restlessly among the tangled débris of decaying trees and underbrush with which the forest was choked, was not unlike that of our common Black-Cap. Yet there was an indescribable something both in their cries and in their manners that at once suggested a difference of species. To my ear their cries were sharper, clearer, and a trifle harsher. There was none of that resonant jingle so full of charm in the Chickadee. Their notes, too, were more articulate, more like distinct words, and were brought out at certain times with an emphasis the effect of which was very striking. Beginning with _tschā-dēē_, the _dēē-dēē-dēē_ was reiterated with an almost incessant volubility.

It seemed to be a more retiring bird, never frequenting the houses, but keeping closely to thick and retired woods. Yet it is not a timid species, but seemed entirely unmindful of our presence, or, when mindful of it, to resent it as an impropriety, rather than to fear it as a danger. They apparently had nests or young at the time of my visit, though I could not detect their locality. One pair became at last so annoyed at my prolonged presence as to manifest their uneasiness by keeping within a few feet of my head, following me wherever I went, and without ceasing from their close surveillance until I finally left their grove and emerged into the open country. All the time they brought out the cry of _dēē-dēē_ with a clear, ringing emphasis that was almost startling.

A few days later, being at Halifax, Mr. Andrew Downes, the naturalist, took me to the nest of these birds in a small grove in the vicinity of that city. The nest was in a small beech-tree, and had been cut through the living wood. The excavation, which was not more than two feet from the ground, was about ten inches in depth, was in a horizontal position only about two inches, where it turned abruptly downward, and from a width of an inch and a half assumed a width of three, and a depth of seven or eight inches. This was warmly lined with feathers and soft fur. The nest contained young birds. These particulars we only ascertained when we had laid bare the excavation by a sharp hatchet. Though disappointed in our search for eggs, yet we witnessed a very touching manifestation of devotion on the part of the parents, and of neighborly solicitude in various other inmates of the grove, which was at once most interesting and a scene long to be remembered.

With all the self-sacrificing devotion of the Black-Cap, these birds displayed a boldness and an aggressive intrepidity that at once commanded our respect and admiration. I never witnessed anything quite equal to it. They flew at our faces, assailed our arms as we wielded the invading hatchet, and it was difficult not to do them even unintentional injury without abandoning our purpose. Before we could examine the nest they had entered, and had to be again and again removed. As soon as we were satisfied that the nest of this heroic pair did not contain what we sought, we left them, and turned to look with equal admiration upon the indignant assembly of feathered remonstrants by which we were surrounded. The neighboring trees swarmed with a variety of birds, several of which we had never before seen in their summer homes. There were the Red-Poll Warbler, the Black and Yellow Warbler, and many others, all earnestly and eloquently crying out shame upon our proceedings.

Dr. Bryant, in his Notes on the Birds of Yarmouth, N. S., etc., mentions finding quite a number of this species on Big Mud Island, near that place. A pair of these birds with their young were seen by him near Yarmouth on the 3d of July. Their habits seemed to him identical with those of the Black-Cap. The young were fully grown and could fly with ease, yet their parents were so solicitous about their safety that he could almost catch them with his hand. Their notes appeared to him similar to those of our common species, but sharper and more filing, and can be readily imitated by repeating, with one’s front teeth shut together, the syllables _tzēē-dēē-dēē-dēē_.

Mr. Audubon found a nest of this Titmouse in Labrador. It was built in a decayed stump about three feet from the ground, was purse-shaped, eight inches in depth, two in diameter, and its sides an inch thick. It was entirely composed of the finest fur of various quadrupeds, chiefly of the northern hare, and all so thickly and ingeniously matted throughout as to seem as if felted by the hand of man. It was wider at the bottom than at the top. The birds vehemently assailed the party.

Mr. Ross, in notes communicated to the late Mr. Kennicott, mentions that specimens of this species were shot at Fort Simpson, October 13, in company with _P. septentrionalis_, and others were afterwards seen towards the mountains. The notes he describes as harsher than those of the _septentrionalis_. The Smithsonian museum contains specimens from Fort Yukon and Great Slave Lake, besides the localities already referred to. Mr. Dall found it the commonest Titmouse at Nulato, abundant in the winter, but not present in the spring.

The eggs of this species measure .56 by .47 of an inch, are of a rounded oval shape, and with a white ground are somewhat sparingly marked with a few reddish-brown spots. These are usually grouped in a ring around the larger end.

GENUS PSALTRIPARUS, BONAP.

_Psaltriparus_, BONAP. Comptes Rendus, XXXI, 1850, 478. (Type, _P. melanotis_.) _Ægithaliscus_, CABANIS, Museum Heineanum, 1851, 90. (Type, _Parus erythrocephalus_.) _Psaltria_, CASSIN, Ill. N. Am. Birds, 1853, 19.

GEN. CHAR. Size very small and slender. Bill very small, short, compressed, and with its upper outline much curved for the terminal half. Upper mandible much deeper than under. Tail long, slender, much graduated; much longer than the wings; the feathers very narrow. Tarsi considerably longer than the middle toe. No black on the crown or throat. Eyes white in some specimens, brown in others. Nest purse-shaped; eggs unspotted, white.

No bird of this genus belongs to the eastern portion of the United States. The three species may be defined as follows:—

A. Head striped with black on the sides.

P. melanotis. The stripes passing under the eye and uniting on the occiput. _Hab._ Eastern Mexico

B. No stripes on the head.

P. minimus. Back ashy; crown light brown. _Hab._ Pacific Province of United States … var. _minimus._

Back and crown uniform ashy. _Hab._ Middle Province and southern Rocky Mountains of United States … var. _plumbeus._

Psaltriparus melanotis, BONAP.

BLACK-EARED BUSH-TITMOUSE.

_Parus melanotis_, HARTLAUB, Rev. Zoöl. 1844, 216. _Pœcile melanotis_, BP. Consp. 1850, 230. _Ægithaliscus melanotis_, CAB. Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 1851, 90. _Psaltria melanotis_, WESTERMANN, Bijd. Dierk. 1851, 16, plate. _Psaltriparus melanotis_, BONAP. C. R. XXXVIII, 1854.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 299.—IB. 1864, 172 (City Mex.).—SALVIN, Ibis, 1866, 190 (Guatemala).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 386, pl. liii, fig. 3; Review, 84. _Psaltriparus personatus_, BONAP. C. R. XXXI, Sept. 1850, 478.

SP. CHAR. A black patch on each cheek, nearly meeting behind. Crown and edges of the wing and tail ash-gray; rest of upper parts yellowish-brown, lighter on the rump. Beneath whitish; anal region tinged with yellowish-brown. Length about 4 inches; wing, 1.90; tail, 2.30.

HAB. Eastern Mexico; south to Guatemala; Oaxaca (high region), SCLATER. East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada? RIDGWAY.

[Line drawing: _Psaltriparus minimus._ 29711 ♂]

HABITS. In regard to the specific peculiarities and the distinct individual habits of the members of this pretty little species, little is at present known. Its mode of nesting has not been observed, and no mention is made, by those who have met with it, of its peculiarities of song, nor have we any information in regard to any of its habits. Its geographical distribution, so far as ascertained, is from the south side of the valley of the Rio Grande of Mexico to Guatemala, and there is no reliable evidence of its crossing the United States boundary line, unless Mr. Ridgway is correct in his assurance that he saw it in the East Humboldt Mountains of Nevada, near Fort Ruby. It was first described from Guatemalan specimens. Mr. O. Salvin (Ibis, 1866, p. 190) states that on more than one occasion he observed what he believed to be this species, in the pine-woods of the mountains near Solola, and above the lake of Atitlan.

Psaltriparus minimus, var. minimus, BONAP.

LEAST BUSH-TITMOUSE.

_Parus minimus_, TOWNSEND, J. A. N. Sc. VII, ii, 1837, 190.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 382, pl. ccclxxxii, figs. 5, 6.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 160, pl. cxxx. _Pœcile minima_, BON. Consp. 1850, 230. _Psaltria minima_, CASSIN, Illust. 1853, 20. _Psaltriparus minimus_, BON. C. R. XXXVIII, 1854, 62.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 397; Review, 84.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep. XII, ii, 1859, 195.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 48.

SP. CHAR. Tail long, feathers graduated. Above rather dark olivaceous-cinereous; top and sides of head smoky-brown. Beneath pale whitish-brown, darker on the sides. Length about 4 inches; wing, 1.90; tail, 2.25.

HAB. Pacific coast of United States.

There is quite an appreciable difference between specimens of this species from Washington Territory and California; the latter are smaller, the under parts paler. In the series before us, however, we see no grounds for specific distinction.

HABITS. This interesting little species was first added to our fauna by the indefatigable Mr. Townsend in 1837. It is abundant throughout the Pacific coast from Fort Steilacoom to Fort Tejon. Dr. Gambel found it exceedingly abundant both in the Rocky Mountains and throughout California. During the winter the otherwise cheerless woods were alive with the busy and noisy troops of these restless and industrious birds, gleaning their scanty fare in company with the _Reguli_, in every possible position and manner, from bush and tree. He describes their anxious solicitous search for food as quite curious. They kept up a continual twittering, and so intent were they in their employment that they appeared to lose sight of all danger, and it was by no means unusual to be so surrounded by a flock as almost to render it possible to catch them in the hand.

Dr. Cooper found this species abundant in Washington Territory, but never met with it north of the Columbia River. Dr. Suckley says it is quite common at Fort Steilacoom. He could not, however, detect any difference in its habits from those of other species of this family. He saw none in Washington Territory during the winter, and presumes they all migrate to the South, though the _rufescens_ and the _occidentalis_ are found there throughout the winter. Townsend, however, speaks of it as a constant resident about the Columbia River, hopping around among the bushes, hanging from the twigs in the manner of other Titmice, twittering all the while with a rapid enunciation resembling the words _thshish tshist-tsee-twee_.

Mr. Nuttall first observed their arrival on the banks of the Wahlamet River about the middle of May. They were very industriously engaged in quest of insects, and were by no means shy, but kept always in the low bushes in the skirts of the woods. On one occasion the male bird was so solicitous in regard to the safety of the nest as to attract him to the place where, suspended from a low bush, about four feet from the ground, hung their curious home. It was formed like a long purse, with a round hole for entrance near the top, and made of moss, down, lint of plants, and lined with feathers. The eggs were six in number, pure white, and already far gone toward hatching. In the following June, in a dark wood near Fort Vancouver, he saw a flock of about twelve, which, by imitating their chirping, he was able to call around him, and which kept up an incessant and querulous chirping.