VERDIN; YELLOW-HEADED TIT. 



74G. Auriparus flaviceps. 4^ inches. 



Adult male with the head and throat yellow, usually 

 with some concealed orange-brown on the forehead ; lesser 

 Aving-coverts reddish brown. The female is colored very 

 similarly, but is much duller. These are among the 

 smallest of X. A. birds; they are even smaller than their 

 length would indicate, for their bodies are slender. The 

 birds are usually found in high dry portions of the 

 country where cacti and thorny bushes predominate. 



West. — Their nests are remarkable structures for so 

 diminutive birds; flask-shaped, the outside being a mass 

 of thorny twigs and stems interwoven; this is lined with 

 feathers and the entrance is a small circular hole near 

 the top. The eggs .ire bluish white specked around the 

 large end with reddish brown. 



Range. — Mexican border of the United States from 

 southern Texas to Arizona and Lower California. 



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