PARIDJ^ — PARIX.E: TITMICE. 269 



olive shade ; wings and tail rather purer and darker. Below, dull ashy-whitish, without any 

 rusty wash on sides. No black on head ; extreme forehead and sides of head obscurely speckled 

 with whitish. No decided markings anywhere. In size rather less than L. bicolor ; length 

 usually under 6.00; wing and tail under 3.00. Young quite like adults, which closely re- 

 semble the young of L. bicolor ; but in the latter there are traces at least of the reddish of the 

 sides or black of the frontlet, or both ; the general coloration is purer, with more distinction 

 between upper and under parts, and the size is rather greater. The speckled appearance of 

 tlie sides of head and lores of L. inornatus is peculiar. Abundant, resident. The typical form 

 is from the coast region of California and Oregon ; a rather larger, stouter-billed form, lighter 

 leaden-gray with scarcely any olive shade, from the Great Basin, is 



L. i. gris'eus. (Lat. griseus, grisly. Gkay Titmouse. Said to differ from ordinary inornatus 

 in rather larger size and decidedly grayer color. Wing 2.90 ; tail 2.55. Middle Province of 

 the U. S. ; Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and California E. of the Sierra 

 Nevadas. L. i. griseiis'RiuGW., Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., v, Sept. 1882, p. 344; CoUES, Key, 2d 

 ed., 1884, p. 204, in text; 3d and 4th eds., 1887 and 1890, p. 866; P. i. griseus A. 0. U. Lists, 

 No. 733(^ 



Jj. i. cinera'ceus. (Lat. cineraceus, somewhat cinereous or ashy in color.) Ashy Titmouse. 

 An(jther local race, described as grayer above and paler below than L. i. griseus, with smaller 

 bill, black in color. Lower California. L. i. cineraceus Ridgw., Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus., vi, 

 Oct. 1883, p. 154 ; Coues, Key, 3d and 4th eds., p. 866; P. i. cineraceus A. O. U. List, No. 

 733 b. 



L. atricrista'tus. (Lat. ater, black, cristatus, crested ; crista, a crest.) Black-crested 

 Titmouse. ^ '^,adn\t: Plumbeous, with a shade of olive; wings and tail rather darker and 

 purer, edged with color of back, or a more hoary shade of the same. Beneath, dull ashy- 

 whitisli, especially on breast; abdomen whiter; sides chestnut-brown as in L. bicolor. Extreme 

 forehead and lores whitish; entire crest glossy black. Bill blackish-plumbeous; feet plum- 

 beous. Small : Length about 5.00 ; wing and tail 2.75. Valley of the Lower Rio Grande, 

 S. E. Texas, and N. E. Mexico. Nest in natural cavities of trees, usually including cast snake- 

 skins among its materials; eggs 0.75 X 0.58, white, spotted with reddish-brown in fine dots 

 over the general surface, boldly blotched at large end, but not distinguishable from those of 

 L. bicolor. 



L. a. castan'eifrons. (Lat. castaneus, of chestnut color ; frons, forehead.) Chestnut- 

 fronted Titmouse. Resembling the last : upper parts plumbeous, faintly tinged with 

 olive ; under parts pale ashy, washed with chestnut on sides, with faint trace of the same on 

 breast and crissum. Crest thin, 1.00 long, dark brown and ashy instead of black, and witli a 

 cliestnut frontlet ; lores white; bill black; feet dark plumbeous. Size of L. bicolor, the 

 bill even larger. Wing 3.12; tail 2.95; tarsus 0.77; bill 0.42. 

 Bee County, Texas. P. a. castaneifrons Senn., Auk, Jan. 1887, 

 p. 28; KiDGw., Man., 1887, p. 561. L. a. castaneifrons Coues, 

 Key, 3d and 4tli eds., 1887 and 1890, p. 866; not admitted in the 

 A. 0. U. List; a dubious form, whose characters suggest hybrid- 

 ism between L. bicolor and L. atrieristatus. 



L. wollweb'eri. (To one Wollweber. Fig. 129.) Bridled 

 Titmouse. $ 9 , adult : Upper parts olivaceous-ash ; wings and 

 tail darker, edged with color of back, or even a brighter tint, some- 

 times nearly as yellowish as in liegidus. Under parts sordid ashy- 

 white. Crest black, with a central field like the back. Whole Fio. 129. - Bridled Titmouse, 



^\ .L n 1 • • o T^ .,!,,. , ,. 1 nat. size. (Mex. B. Survey.) 



throat black, as m species of Parus. A black line runs behind 



eye and curves down over auriculars, distinguished from black of crest and throat by white of 



side of head and white superciliary stripe ; a half-collar of black on nape, descending on sides 



