CHARACTERS OF PSALTRIPARUS PLUMBEUS 125 



l*lllBBll)eOII« Slll.«Ii-tit 



Psaltripariis i>luuibeu<« 



Psaltria pluinbra, Bd. Pr. Phila. Acad. vii. 1854, 118 (Colorado Chiquito, Aiizoua). 

 FsnltriparUS pllllllbeUS, Bd. BNA. 1858, 398; ed. of 1860, pi. 33, f. 2.— Keinier. PR-Rli. x. 



le.59. Whipple's Route, Birds, 25. pi. 33, f. 2 (Arizona).— /^e7i7-!/, Pr. Phila. Acad. xi. 



1859, 107.— Sc?. RAB. 1864, 8i.—Coiies, Ibis, 2d ser. i. 1S63, 164 (Arizona).— Coues, Pr. 



Phila. Acad, xviii. 1866, 79 (Arizona).— Coo;>. Am. Nat. iii. 1869, 479.— Ccop. B. Cal. . 



1870, 49, fig.— OoMes, Key, 1872, 82.— Aiken, Pr. Bost. Soc. xv. 1872, 195 (Colorado).— .§/fi'. 



U. S. Geol. Siirv. Terr, for 1871, 1872, 464 (Green River, Wyoming).- Coxes, BNW. 



1874, 23.— I'ar;-. cV Hciisk. Rep. Oiu. Specs. 1874, 7. 

 Psaitripariis niiniinus mr. pluiubeiis, ffirf^. Bnll. Ess. Inst. v. 1673, 180.— i?. B. ^- R. NAB. 



i. 1874, 110, pi. 7, f. lO.—Hensli. Rep. Orn. Specs. 1874, 40, 99. 



Leaden Titmouse, Plumbeous Tilmousc, Lead-colored Titmouse, Lead-colored Bush- 

 titmouse, Authors. 



Hab. — Rocky Mouutaiu regiou of the United States, southerly; north to 

 Green River, Wyoming ; west to the Humboldt Mountains, Nevada. 



Cn. SP. — S 9 Flumheiis, vert ice concolore, infra r/riseoalbiis; la- 

 ter ibus capitis palUdehrnnnescentihus; caiidd alis longiore. 



<? 9 : Clear plumbeous, with little or no olive or brownish shade, the top 

 of the head not different from the back. Sides of the head jiale brownish. 

 Under parts as iu F. minimus, but rather clearer. Tail considerably longer 

 than the wiugs. Eyes inditferently yellow or dark brown. Length about 

 4i inches ; wing, 2 or rather less (l|-2i); tail, 2^-2^ ; bill, i ; tarsus, 'i. 



This species is very closely related to P. minimus, and may ultimately prove 

 to be simply a local race ; but I have seen no specimens not readily dis- 

 tinguishable. The total length is somewhat greater, owing to the greater 

 size of the tail, which sometimes exceeds that of the wings by half an inch. 

 The general coloration is clearer and purer ; the crown is not different iu 

 oolor from the back, and the cheeks are pale brownish iu obvious contrast. 



UP to the present time, no one seems to have fonud the nest 

 of the Plumbeous Bash-tit, though several naturalists be- 

 sides myself have collected diligently in regions where the bird 

 abounds. Not to pass over so extraordinary a specimen of bird- 

 architecture as the genus Psaltripariis has invented and success- 

 fully introduced, I shall refer to the nests of P. minimus, from 

 which those of the scarcely distinct F. plumheus cannot be pre- 

 sumed to differ. The order of architecture is thoroughly com- 

 posite ; in its execution, the qualities of skill, ingenuity, good 

 taste and laborious ])erseverance are exhibited on the part of 

 the builders ; while the wee creatures seem possessed of no 

 little ambition to make a monument, which, if not so lasting as 

 •brass, is infinitely more comfortable and convenient. This nest 

 belongs in the category of pensile structures, being suspended 



