400 U. S. p. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS— ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 



PAROIDES FLAVICEPS, Baird. 



Jlegilhttlus fiavkejis, Scndevall, Ofversigt af Vet. Ak. Forhandl. VII, v, 1850, 129. "Sitka or California." 

 Psallriajlaviceps, Sclater, Pr. Zool. Soc. XXIV, Mar. i85G, 37. 



Conirostrum ornaticm, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyceum, V, May, 1851, 113 ; pi. v, fig. 1. Texas. (First introduction 

 into fauna of U. S.) 



Sp. Ch. — Above, cinereous ; head, all round, yellow : lesser wing coverts chestnut ; beneath brownish white. Lem^th, 4.50 

 inches ; wing, 2.16 ; tail, 2.35. 



Hab. — Rio Grande. Valleys of Texas and Mexico. 



In this species the hill is conical ; the outlines of the upper mandihle very gently and uni- 

 formly curved from the hase, with an almost inappreciahle downward bend near the tip. In 

 one specimen the lower edge of the lower jaw is curved slightly downward ; in another it is still 

 curved, but almost straight. The ridge is rounded ; the nostrils covered with superincumbent 

 feathers. The feet are stout and strong, hut rather short ; the hind claw is short. The wings 

 are moderate ; the exposed part of the first or spurious quill is contained about two-and-a-half 

 times in the second primary, which is considerably longer than the secondary quills, and barely 

 shorter than the second primary ; the third, fourth, and fifth quills are equal^ and longest. 

 The tail is rather short, slightly rounded ; the feathers moderately broad. 



The upper parts in this bird (excepting the head) are of a light brownish plumbeous, tinged 

 with greenish yellow ; this color quite distinct at the junction of the downy and hairy portions of 

 the feathers, or across their middle line. This yellow is most evident on the rump, but here, as 

 elsewhere, is only appreciable when the feathers are raised. The head all round, and the upper 

 part of the throat, are greenish yellow ; the feathers on the crown more olivaceous green at their 

 tips ; those on the front with a tendency to orange at their bases. The under parts are dull 

 brownish white, slightly tinged with greenish yellow on the abdomen. The wings and tail are 

 brown, edged with the color of the back ; the edges of the outer tail feathers and of the prima- 

 ries, rather paler. The lesser wing coverts are chestnut. 



The specimen described is a winter specimen ; the spring plumage may be brighter. A spe- 

 cimen from Saltillo, Mexico, is smaller than one from El Paso. 



This bird diff'ers very much in external form from Psaltriparus minimus, and if the latter really 

 belong to Psaltria, then the subject of the present article is erroneously assigned to Psaltria by 

 Mr. Sclater. In form it is much more like the sylvicolas, or even the typical titmice ; the bill is 

 broader, longer, more conical, and much less curved above than in P. minimus ; the outline of 

 the lower jaw also is slightly concave, instead of convex. The wings are larger ; the secondary • 

 and tertials more nearly of a length ; the outer primaries much less graduated ; the spurious 

 first primary smaller. The tail feathers are proportionally broader, shorter, and more nearly 

 of a length ; the greatest difference being .16 of an inch instead of .45. The tarsi, toes, and 

 claws are shorter and stouter. 



In reality this species has a close resemblance of form to the species of black-capped Parus, 

 with graduated tails, as P. sepientrionalis. It differs from them, however, in a more elongated 

 and pointed bill, less curved above ; the outline of the lower mandible concave below ; the claws, 

 especially the hinder one, shorter. The primaries are less graduated, the third being longest, 

 (with the fourth and fifth,) instead of being nearly .15 of an inch shorter than the fourth. 



