58 LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS 



North America, but the crested species are rather 

 Southern, and all but one is Western. They are 

 mostly hardy birds and endure the rigors of win- 

 ter without inconvenience, and, in consequence, are 

 not migratory; musical after their own fashion, 

 active, restless, and heedless of the presence of 

 man. They are very prolific, laying many eggs, 

 and rearing more than a single brood per season. 

 The young closely resemble their parents, and 

 there are seasonal or sexual variations of 

 plumage. 



Subfamily Parinae. True Titmice. 



With few exceptions, they are birds of the 

 Northern Hemisphere, and abound in Europe, 

 Asia and North America. Larger proportion of 

 the genera and species occupy the Old World; 

 all these occur within our limits, except Psaltri- 

 parus melanotis and Parus meridional} s, two Mex- 

 ican species, which have been recently compre- 

 hended in our systematic works; the former is a 

 distinctive and beautiful species, while the latter 

 is probably only a seasonal variety of Pants 

 atricapillus.. 



Lophophanes bicolor, Bonap. 



The habits of the Crested Titmouse differ very 

 materially, in some respects, from those of Pariis 

 atricapillus. It is a solitary and retired species, 

 seldom venturing within the domains of man, 



