Part 3

No dependence can be placed in the extent of the red color on the head, as a character, so far as I have observed, in the woodpeckers of the United States. In _Picus pubescens_, a common species in Pennsylvania, the young male has the head above entirely crimson, which color in the adult is restricted to a narrow occipital band. I do not know that the change in others of our species is so decided, but the width of the occipital stripe is much varied in different specimens of the same species, and my impression is, that as a specific character this very ornamental portion of the plumage of woodpeckers ought to be estimated with great caution.

LOPHOPHANES ATRICRISTATUS.—(Cassin.) The Black-crested Chickadee. PLATE III.—Male and Female.

The pleasant little birds of the same family as those known in Great Britain as Tits or Tit-mice, have received in America, from the characteristic notes of several of the species, the name of Chickadees. Popular names being entirely of a local character and of little scientific value, we invariably prefer to give those by which species are known in this country instead of the names of birds allied to or resembling them which inhabit Europe, though the latter are generally adopted by American writers.

The species of this family, which are permanent residents in the middle and northern States, and especially the tufted or crested Chickadee (_L. bicolor_,) are among the very first of the feathered inhabitants of our woodlands to welcome the advent of spring, and to hail with their clear and melodious notes the earliest tokens of the decline of winter. Even on fine days in February or early in March, the crested Chickadee may often be heard, apparently indulging himself in gratifying anticipations of the approaching spring-time; or it may be, that not being instinctively weather-wise like the beaver, and not at all versed in wise saws or modern instances, he thinks that it has already come. Which conclusion, though sometimes adopted quite as summarily by tidy house-keepers, is very apt to be demonstrated by the storms of St. Patrick’s day to be entirely illusory.

The tits or chickadees are abundant birds in the temperate and northern regions of both hemispheres, most so perhaps in Europe, though the researches of ornithologists have added numerous species to those formerly known to inhabit Asia and America. Several very handsome birds of this family have been discovered, within a few years, inhabiting the Himalaya mountains, and other parts of India, and in Japan. In North America the species have increased from two only, which were figured by the celebrated Wilson, to twelve, the additions having been principally from the Western States, and from Texas and Mexico, and there can be no doubt that in the almost unexplored countries of North-Western America as well as in those which have received a greater degree of the attention of zoological travellers, such as Texas, California and Mexico, others yet remain to be discovered.

There are about fourteen European species of this group of birds, and about twenty which are exclusively Asiatic. A few species of allied genera inhabit Africa and New Zealand, but none of near relationship have yet been found in Australia nor in South America.

The species of all countries appear to be very similar in their habits, and live almost entirely in the forests, subsisting exclusively on insects in the summer, and in the winter partially substituting seeds and berries for their more grateful food.

The black-crested chickadee is a native of Texas and probably also of Mexico. It was discovered in the former country by Mr. John Woodhouse Audubon, a son of the distinguished ornithologist, and was first described by us in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. It is very similar to the crested chickadee in form and general appearance, but exhibits a striking difference in having the crest entirely black, by which character it is distinguished from all others of the genus to which it belongs.

The only information that we have obtained relative to its history has been communicated to us by Samuel W. Woodhouse, M. D., who was attached, as surgeon and naturalist, to a party under the command of Captain Sitgreaves of the Topographical Engineers of the Army of the United States, which surveyed the rivers Zunia and the Colorado of the west, by order of the Government.

Dr. Woodhouse has had the kindness to allow us to copy the following memoranda from his Journal, which will be published at an early period, with the Report made by Captain Sitgreaves to the Topographical Department, and will be an important contribution to the natural history of Texas and New Mexico:

“While our party was encamped on the Rio Salado in Texas, near San Antonio, in March, 1851, I observed this handsome little chickadee for the first time. It was busily engaged in capturing insects among the trees on the bank of the stream, and like the other species of its family, was incessantly in motion and very noisy. At our camp at Quihi, on the eighth of May, I again found it very abundant among the oaks. The young males, which were then fully grown, much resembled the adult females, both wanting the black crest which characterizes the male. Afterwards I noticed this species, occurring sparingly, along our route, as far as the head waters of the San Francisco river in New Mexico.

“I observed it almost entirely in trees bordering streams of water, the females and young males invariably having the crest of the same cinereous color as their general plumage, but in the latter slightly tinged with brown. It occurred in small parties, appeared to be very sociable and lively in its habits, and in general appearance and in nearly all its notes which I heard, it so very much resembled the common crested chickadee of the Northern States as scarcely to be recognized as a distinct species at a short distance.”

The collection made by Dr. Woodhouse contains fine specimens of this bird, from a male and female of which, and from Mr. Audubon’s specimens, our plate has been prepared. We have represented both sexes about three-fourths of the natural size.

The plant figured is the _Phlox Drummondii_, a beautiful species which is a native of New Mexico and California.

DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS.

Genus Lophophanes. Kaup Skiz. Entw. Eur. Thierw. (1829.) Lophophanes atricristatus. (Cassin.) Parus atricristatus. Cassin. Proc. Acad. Philada. Vol. V., p. 103, (Oct. 1850.)

Form. With a high pointed crest, bill rather strong and acute. Wings long, with the fourth and fifth primaries longest, and nearly equal; tail rather long.

Dimensions of a skin from Quihi, Texas. Total length, from tip of bill to end of tail, about 6 inches; wing 3; tail 2¾ inches.

Colors. Male. Crest, black; body, wings and tail above, cinereous; darker on the latter, and with an olivacious tinge on the back. Front and inferior surface of the body, ashy white; flanks, ferruginous. Shafts of primaries, reddish at their bases; those of the tail feathers white beneath; bill and legs black. Young male with the crest cinereous, shaded with light brown.

Female. Similar to the male, but slightly smaller, and with the crest cinereous.

Hab. Texas. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This species is of the same general form and color as _Lophophanes bicolor_, (Linn.,) and _Lophophanes inornatus_. (Gambel.) It is about the size of the former, and larger than the latter, and may be readily distinguished from either of those or from any other species known to me, by its black crest.

Having access to specimens of all the known North American species of this family, in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, we beg the liberty of laying before our readers a synopsis of these birds, with short descriptions, and of availing ourselves also of the present occasion to express our grateful acknowledgments for the facilities and privileges generously allowed us by the gentlemen of the Academy.

SYNOPSIS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF THE SUB-FAMILY PARINÆ.

I. GENUS PARUS. Linnæus. Syst. Nat. I. p. 340. (1766.)

Not crested, bill short, rather strong, conic, entire, nostrils at the base of the bill and concealed by projecting feathers. Wings moderate, with the first quill spurious, fourth and fifth usually longest and nearly equal, tail rather long, legs and feet rather robust, claws curved and sharp. Colors usually cinereous and black.

This genus originally included all the birds now usually regarded as constituting a family of many genera, species of which inhabit nearly all the countries of the world. As restricted, it appears properly to embrace numerous species without crests found in Asia, Europe, and America; nearly all of which have the upper part of the head and throat black. A further division has however been made by Professor Kaup, of Darmstadt; and all the American, with some European and Asiatic non-crested species, form his genus _Pœcila_.

The American species are as follows:

1. Parus atricapillus. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. p. 341 (1766). The black-capped Chickadee.

Length (of skin) about 5 inches. Head and neck above and large space on the throat black, cheeks and sides of the neck white, entire plumage of the body above cinereous, slightly tinged with brownish olive, below ashy white tinged with brownish. Bill and feet dark. Sexes alike.

Hab. Northern and Middle States of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

2. Parus carolinensis. Audubon Orn. Biog. II. p. 341, (1834.) The Carolina Chickadee.

Length (of skin) about 4¼ inches. Head and neck above and large space on the throat black, cheeks and sides of the neck white. Entire plumage of the body above cinereous, slightly tinged with brownish olive, below ashy white tinged with brownish. Bill and feet dark. Sexes alike.

Hab. Middle and Southern States of North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. Very similar to the preceding, but easily recognized by its smaller size.

3. Parus septentrionalis. Harris, Proc. Acad. Philada. II. p. 300, (Dec. 1845.) The long-tailed chickadee.

Length (of skin) about 6 inches. Head above and space on the throat black, cheeks and sides of the neck white. Entire plumage of the body above cinereous, strongly tinged with reddish brown, below ashy white, tinged with yellowish brown, especially on the sides and flanks, external web of outer tail feathers nearly pure white. Bill and feet dark. Tail comparatively longer than in either of the preceding species.

Hab. Missouri and the Rocky Mountains. Great Salt Lake. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada. and in the National Collection, Washington city.

Obs. A species related to, but quite distinct from either of the preceding. It is larger, and the specimens which I have seen have the bill longer and more pointed, the tail much longer, the black space on the head more restricted, and the general coloring more tinged with brown. The white outer edges of the external tail feathers is a well-marked character.

4. Parus montanus. Gambel, Proc. Acad. Philada. I. p. 259, (April, 1843.)

Length (of skin) about 5 inches. Head and neck above, line through the eye, space on the throat and upper part of the breast black. Line over the eye, large space on the cheeks and side of the neck white. Body above cinereous, below ashy white tinged with brownish on the flanks, bill and legs dark.

Hab. California. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This western species is readily distinguished from all others of North America by the broad white line over the eye. Its bill is longer than in the typical species.

5. Parus hudsonicus. Forster, Philosoph. Trans. lxii. p. 430, (London, 1772.)

Length (of skin) about 5 inches. Head and neck above deep ferruginous brown, large space on the throat brownish black, cheeks white. Body above brownish cinereous, below ashy white, sides and flanks deep reddish chestnut brown, bill and feet lead colored. Sexes very similar.

Hab. British America, and Northern States of the Union. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. Quite a distinct and well-marked species, erroneously supposed by some European writers to be the young of _P. atricapillus_. It has been found breeding in the State of Maine, by our friend Dr. Brewer of Boston.

6. Parus rufescens. Townsend Jour. Acad. Philada. vii. p. 190, (1837.)

Length (of skin) about 4½ inches. Head and neck above, large space on the throat and breast deep blackish brown, cheeks and sides of the neck white, body above and sides below bright chestnut, medial portion of the body below ashy white. Bill and legs lead color.

Hab. Oregon and California. Spec. Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. A beautiful little species, which appears to inhabit a large extent of country west of the Rocky Mountains. It is easily recognized by the bright chestnut color of the superior parts of the body.

II. GENUS LOPHOPHANES. Kaup. Skiz. Entw. Eur. Thierw. (1829.)

Crested, bill moderate, strong, conic, entire, upper mandible rather the longer and slightly curved, nostrils basal, rounded and concealed by projecting feathers. Wings rather long, with the fourth and fifth primaries usually longest, tail rather long, legs and feet robust, the latter rather large, and provided with curved, strong and very sharp claws. Prevailing color of all known American species, cinereous.

This genus comprises the crested species of Europe and America, which were formerly included in the genus Parus, Linn., but which evidently form a natural and easily characterized group, fully entitled to generic distinction.

1. Lophophanes bicolor. (Linn) The crested Chickadee.

Parus bicolor. Linn. Syst. Nat. I. p. 340, (1766.)

Length about 6½ inches. Front black, crest and body above dark cinereous, tinged with greenish on the back, below ashy white, flanks reddish brown. Bill and legs nearly black. Sexes alike.

Hab. Eastern North America. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

2. Lophophanes atricristatus. (Cassin). The black-crested Chickadee.

Parus atricristatus. Cassin, Proc. Acad. Philada. V. p. 103, (Oct. 1850.)

Length (of skin) about 6 inches. Male—front, ashy white, crest black, entire plumage above cinereous, beneath ashy white, flanks reddish brown. Bill and legs black. Female, with the crest ashy, not black. Young, like the female, but with crest tinged with brown.

Hab. Texas and Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philad. and in the National Collection Washington city.

3. Lophophanes inornatus. (Gambel). The plain-crested Chickadee.

Parus inornatus. Gambel. Proc. Acad. Philada. II. p. 265, (Aug. 1845.)

Length about 5½ inches. Front, crest and entire plumage above cinereous, strongly inclining to olive, below uniform whitish, cinereous. Bill and legs lead-colored. Sexes alike.

Hab. California. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. A plainly-colored species abundant in California, easily recognized by the uniform cinereous color of its plumage.

4. Lophophanes Wollweberi. Bonaparte, Comptes rendus, Acad. Paris, xxxi. p. 478. (Sept. 1850.) The Texan Chickadee.

Parus annexus. Cassin, Proc. Acad. Philada. V. p. 103. (Oct. 1850.)

Lophophanes galeatus. Cabanis Cat. Heine’s coll. p. 90. (1851.)

Length (of skin) about 5 inches. Anterior feathers of crest, cinereous, succeeding and most elongated, black, others margined with white, short occipital feathers black. Throat black, line commencing behind the eye, thence curving and uniting with the space of the same color on the throat, black. Line above the eye running into the crest and around on the neck, white. Entire plumage above cinereous, tinged with olive, below ashy white, bill and feet dark.

Hab. Texas. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This species considerably resembles _Lophophanes cristatus_, (Linn.) a common European bird. I have no doubt that the names given above are synonymous; that applied by us being about one month later than the publication of the description by Bonaparte as cited.

III. GENUS PSALTRIA. Temminck. Pl. Col. III.

Bill very short, thick, upper mandible curved, entire, nearly of the same thickness as the lower, nostrils basal, concealed by projecting feathers, wings rather short, first quill spurious, fourth and fifth longest and nearly equal, tail long and slightly wedge-shaped. Tarsi long and slender, feet rather strong, claws curved and acute, that on the posterior toe strongest. Not crested, colors of all known species principally cinereous and white.

This genus was established by the celebrated naturalist Temminck, of Leyden, (in Planches Coloriees, vol. iii.) with a little bird as its type named by him _Psaltria exilis_, which inhabits Java. The bird discovered by Dr. Townsend in Oregon, and now well known to American Ornithologists as _Parus minimus_, Townsend, not only belongs to this genus, but only materially differs in size from _Psaltria exilis_. Temm. Its colors and general appearance much resemble it.

The American species are:

1. Psaltria minima. (Townsend) Townsend’s Chickadee. Parus minimus. Townsend, Jour. Acad. Philada. vii. p. 199. (1837.)

Length (of skin) about 4 inches. Head above deep cinereous, inclining to purplish brown, body above cinereous, with a tinge of olive. Throat and breast whitish, abdomen and flanks cinereous, tinged with purplish brown, bill and feet black. Female rather smaller.

Hab. Oregon and California. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. As frequently turns out to be the case with birds to which such names as minor and minimus are applied, this little bird is considerably _larger_ than its near relative, _P. exilis_, Temm. which otherwise it much resembles. It is now frequently brought in collections from California.

2. Psaltria melanotis. (Sanbach.) The black-eared Chickadee. Parus melanotis. Sandb. Proc. Brit. Ass. for Adv. Sci. vi. p. 99. (1837.) “Parus melanotis. Sandb.” Hartlaub, Rev. Zool. 1844, p. 216. Psaltriparus personatus. Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus Acad. Paris, xxxi. p. 478. (Sept. 1850.)

Length (of skin) about 4 inches. Male, broad stripes on each side of the head under the eye, and uniting on the occiput, deep black with a green metallic lustre. Head above pale cinereous, body above cinereous brown, throat and neck white, below ashy white, with a purplish tinge, bill and legs dark. Female, with the ears brown.

Hab. Texas and Mexico. Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada.

Obs. This pretty little bird has the bill longer and more compressed than either the preceding species, or _Psaltria exilis_, Temm. It is, however, we think, a true _Psaltria_, in which respect we coincide with Prof. Westerman, who gives a description and excellent figure of it in Contributions to Zoology, (Bijdragen tot de Dierkunden,) Amsterdam, 1851.

A few other names have been given to American species of the old genus _Parus_ by the earlier authors, all of which are undoubtedly synonymes for those of species previously described, and which we have enumerated. We have in all cases given the authority for the first description and its date.

Chamæa fasciata. (Gambel) a bird of California—though described originally, but as Dr. Gambel expressly states provisionally only, as a _Parus_, we regard as properly belonging to the family of Wrens (Troglodytidæ.)

CYRTONYX MASSENA.—(Lesson.) The Massena Partridge. PLATE IV.—Male and Female.

This singularly, we had almost said, fantastically colored, though very handsome Partridge, is an inhabitant of Texas and Mexico. No other species presents such a remarkable arrangement of colors, and the black lines in the face of the male bird, as the eminent English Ornithologist, Mr. Gould, very appropriately observes, “forcibly remind one of the painted face of the clown in a pantomime.”

It has, until recently, been an exceedingly rare and highly prized bird in collections, a few specimens only having reached Europe or the cities on the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Those have received names, and have been described by various European authors, as will appear from the synonymes included in the present article; but neither of them have published any information relative to the habits or history of this curious bird, nor have indicated the district of Mexico from which it had been received. It has been known only as a museum species.

Since the commencement of the military operations of the United States in Texas, New Mexico and California, and the subsequent incorporation of those countries into this great Confederacy, their natural history has attracted a large share of the attention of naturalists and students at home, and also of many highly accomplished officers of the army. In fact, to the latter gentlemen is to be awarded the high merit of having contributed, notwithstanding the engrossing and deeply responsible character of their professional duties, a large portion of all that is known relative to the zoology of those vast, and especially in a scientific point of view, very interesting regions.

A valuable notice of the Massena Partridge is given by our highly esteemed friend, Col. McCall, in his “Remarks on the habits of birds met with in Western Texas, between San Antonio and the Rio Grande, and in New Mexico, with descriptions of several species believed to have been hitherto undescribed,” published in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, V. p. 213, (June, 1851,) which we have taken the liberty of transferring to our pages.

“This species was not seen before crossing the San Pedro, but it was not long until it made its appearance in the waste and rocky region into which we then entered. And from that time until we reached the Rio Pecos, a distance of 140 miles, (westwardly by the route travelled,) it was frequently seen, though I should not say it was very common. This region is a desert of great length from north to south, our trail crossing it at nearly right angles. The general face of the country is level, and consists of either a crumbling argillaceous limestone, or a coarse grey sand, producing nothing but a sparse growth of sand plants. Water is found only at long intervals, and except at those points there is little cover for game, and apparently less food,—the principal growth being _Cacti_, of which the most common is _Cactus arborescens_; yet here, amongst projecting rocks, or on the borders of dry gullies, or in loose scrub, I found the Massena Partridge in all the beauty of his rich and varied plumage.

“The habits of this species are different from those of any other species of partridge that I have met with. They were in covies of from eight to twelve individuals, and appeared to be extremely simple and affectionate in disposition. In feeding, they separated but little, keeping up a social _cluck_ all the time. They were so gentle as to evince little or no alarm on the approach of man; scarcely moving out of his way as he passed, and only running off or flying a few yards, when perhaps half their numbers were laid low by a shot. This inclined me to think they might with little difficulty be domesticated, although I found them here in a boundless, barren waste, and nowhere near the habitation of man. This trait of gentleness is the very opposite of those strikingly manifested by the scaly partridge, (_Callipepla squamata_,) which I always observed to be, though found perchance in grounds as little frequented as these, remarkably vigilant, shy, and difficult to approach. The call or signal note of this species is peculiar. I never saw it after crossing the Pecos river.”