102 NnllTII AMKRICAX lUKDS. 



of bread. They inij^rate but little, remaining at the C'olnmbia Iliver even 

 when the j^round is covered with snow. The e^'«^3 are us yet unknown, but 

 without doubt they closely resemble those of the Eiisteru species. 



Parus carolinensis, Audubon. 



SOITTHEBV CHXCKAOBI. 



Pnnis enrol hi r)i.<<i':i. Am. Orii. l>u>f*. II, 1834, 474, i»l. clx. — Ib. Binls Am. II, 1841, 1.'»'2, 

 |tl. txxvii. - r.AiKD, Hii.ls N. .\m. 18;kH, 31>2 ; KfvifW, 81. — Silatku, latul. ISGI, 

 13, no. 81. J'uxilc cai'utincnuint Bon. C'uii.sp. 18oU, 230. 



pp. CiiAK. Soeond »[iull a|){>roLi;il»lv longer than secondaries. Tail very little n>un<le<l. 

 Lenirtli al)out 4..'»U inches; wing less than 2..')0 ; tail, 2.40. Back brownish-ayh. Head 

 al>ove, and throat, black, separated on sides of head by white. Beneath white; brownish- 

 white on sides. Outer tail-leathers, primaries, and s<H'on«laries, not edged with white. 



IIab. South Atlantic and gulf region of United States, north to Washi!igt«)n, I). ('. 

 Texa.s and the Mississippi Valley ; north to Central Illinois ; the only species in the 

 southern portion of the latter State. 



This species is, in general, rather smaller than P. atricapillits, although 

 the tail and wing appear to be of much the same size. The body and ieet 

 are, however, smaller, and the extt3nt of wing is three quarters of au inch 

 less. The bill is apparently shorter and stouter. 



The primaries are proportionally and absolutely considerably longer than 

 the secondaries in the present si^ecies, the difference l»eing .00 of an inch, 

 instead of .45. The tail is rather more rounded, the feathei-s narrower. 



The tail is considerably shorter than the w4ng, instead of longer ; the 

 black of the throat extends much farther back, is more dense and more 

 sharply defined behind, than in atrkapillus. Taking into view these dif- 

 ferences, and others of color, we feel justified in retaining this as a species 

 distinct from utrkapillus, and, in fact, having uieridioiialis as its nearest 

 relative (see Synoptical Table). Ik)th this s^xjcies and atrieapiUm are found 

 together in the Middle States, each preserving its characteristics. 



Habits. South of the once tiimous line of Mason and Dixon this smaller 

 counterpart of the Chickadee seems to entirely replace it, iilthough in New 

 Jei-sey and Pennsylvania, and occasionally even as far to the north as New 

 York City, the two occur together. Its range is presumed to be all the 

 States south of the Potomac and the Ohio, as far to the west as the Kio 

 Grande. It was probably this species, and not the atricapiUiu% which was 

 met with by Dr. WixKlhouse in the Indian Territory. Without much doubt 

 it breeds in all the States south of Pennsylvania. 



In Southern Illinois, as far north in the Wabash Valley as the mouth of 

 White Kiver, this is the only species, unless the P. atrkapillus occasionally 

 occurs in winter. Specimens from this region are undistinguishable from 

 those taken in Georgia and the extreme Southern States, and do not present 

 the peculiar features of P. otrkapilhts. It is a very abundant species, 



