On the Birds of Ritchie County. 133 



distance. The note used by both sexes is a harsh but rather faiut lisp. 

 A nest, upon which the parent birds were still at work, was discovered by 

 Mr. Ingersoll, May 10th, on a horizontal oak branch fifty feet above the 

 ground. 



Family PARID^S. The Titmice. 



11. Lophophanes bicolor (L.) Pr. A very common bird here, seeming 

 to prefer high oak woodlands, though we also sometimes found them in 

 the scrub or second growth. By April 25 they were commencing to lay, 

 as we dissected several females which contained eggs nearly ready for 

 the shell ; no nests were, however, found. In habits and general appear- 

 ance they strongly suggest the jays, the only Paridine attributes being 

 some of the notes, and the flight, which is undulating, heavy and accom- 

 panied by a loud rustling sound. 



They spend much of their time on the ground, hopping about slowly 

 among the leaves until a nut or acorn is discovered, when it is taken up 

 to some low branch and then hammered vigorously with the bill until 

 broken open. 



The crest is nearly always erect and looks much longer than it actually 

 is. They are at all times very tame and unsuspicious. 



The song of the male is sure to be one of the first sounds that one 

 hears upon entering the woods, for it is very loud, and repeated almost 

 incessantly. It is a rolling whistle uttered six or seven times in succes- 

 sion ; something like quee dle-t-or, quee dle-t-or, etc. Other notes used by 

 both sexes are a faint lisping chirp, a chee de de (almost undistinguishable 

 from that of Parus Carolinensis) and a tse-tsip, which latter is, however, 

 but seldom heard. 



12. Pai-us Carolinensis Aud. Common and generally distributed. In 

 habits and appearance it much resembles P. atricapillus, though its smaller 

 size is at once noticeable. The notes are, however, all quite different. 

 The song of the male is quite a pretty one and consists of four measures, 

 whistled rather slowly, audible at a considerable distance ; the first syl- 

 lable is rather high, the second several octaves higher, the third and 

 fourth lower than the first. Altogether, it bears quite a resemblance to 

 the song of Dendroica virens, though lacking its peculiar, albeit rather 

 pleasing, harshness. The chirp used by both sexes is very faint and par- 

 takes somewhat of a Fringilline character. They have also a scolding 

 chee de de somewhat similar to that of our Northern species, but much 

 feebler. Females of this species were dissected, which contained eggs 

 nearly ready to be laid, as early as April 25. 



Family SITTID^. The Nuthatches. 



13. Sitta Carolinensis Gm. Found sparingly in the woods. Its hank 

 sounded a trifle harsher and less loud than at the north. A nest discov- 

 ered May 9th, in a natural cavity near the top of a tall beech, must have 



