16 NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



3G. Tufted Titmouse — lophophanes bicolor. White, thickly sprin- 

 kled with reddish-brown, and sparsely with lilac spots, five or six in num- 

 ber and measure .72 by .54. The nest is placed in some natural cavity of 

 a tree ; a hollow in the fork of an apple tree is a favorite site. The mate- 

 rials composing it are generally bits of moss, leaves and grass, and some- 

 times the eggs are deposited on the bare floor of the cavity. Resident 

 throughout its range. 



Hab. Eastern United States from Texas and Nebraska to the Connecticut Valley. 



37. Black-Crested Titmouse — lophophanes atrocristatus. Clear 

 white, with fine spots, but about the larger end bold blotches of reddish- 

 brown, forming nearly a confluent ring. They are ovoid in shape and 

 measure about .75 by .57. The Texas Titmouse is distributed through- 

 out the valley of the Rio Grande, including portions of Mexico and 

 Western Texas. The nest is placed in natural cavities of hollow 

 limbs ; the materials generally used are dry grasses, feathers, wool and 

 moss and pieces of snake-skins. Like the Blue Grosbeak this bird sel- 

 dom constructs a nest without the addition of snake-skins and it would ap- 

 pear that this habit is characteristic of both birds. 



Hab. Valley of the Rio Grande, south into Mexico, San Antonio, Texas, Vera Cruz, Sclater. 



40. Mountain Chickadee — parus montanus. Pure white, with a faint 

 reddish tint, some are marked with spots of reddish-brown ; form, nearly 

 spherical, and the number laid ranges from six to eight. The nest is 

 placed in the deserted excavation of a Woodpecker or in some hollow 

 limb or stump. It is a warm mattress made of a mass of the fir of small 

 quadrupeds intermingled with hair. White-browed Chickadee is another 

 name by which this bird is known. 



Hab. Mountain region of Middle and Western United States. 



41. Black-Capped Chickadee — parus atricapillus. White with ros)'^ 

 blush, speckled all over, but most thickly at the larger end, with reddish- 

 brown spots ; their form is nearly spherical and the number laid ranges 

 from five to eight ; sometimes as many as ten are found in a nest. They 

 measure .58 by .47. This common bird is well known throughout the 

 greater portion of United States. The Chickadee, or Black-capped Tit- 

 mouse, constructs its nest in hollow fence-posts, decayed stumps of trees 

 and hollow logs. The nest is usually a warm and soft mass of hair and fur 

 of the smaller quadrupeds, downy feathers and fine dry grasses. 



Hab. North America, chiefly northern and eastern. 



41a. Long tailed Chickadee — parus atricapillus septentrionalis. 

 Pure dull white, very uniformly and pretty thickly covered with fine mark- 

 ings and small blotches of red and reddish-brown, with few dots of pur- 

 plish ; usually five, occasionally eight in number, rounded oval in shape 



