Crested Titmice 751 



Crested Titmice. We may now return to the members of the group in 

 which the head is adorned with a more or less conspicuous crest, all of which 

 were formerly and by many are still included within the limits of the genus 

 Parus. One of the best-known American species is the Tufted Titmouse (Parus 

 [BfBolophus] bicolor) of the eastern United States, chiefly south of 40. The 

 entire upper parts including the crest are gray, the forehead black, and the 

 lower parts whitish becoming rusty on the flanks. The Tufted Titmouse is quite 

 generally distributed throughout woodlands, where its presence is known by 

 its loud, clearly whistled notes, which resemble the syllables peto, peto, peto, 

 peto, and are often repeated for hours at a time, until, as Mr. Chapman says, 

 "the bird finally wearies one by its monotonous repetition." It is ordinarily 

 a tame, unsuspicious, and inquisitive bird, gathering in small flocks in winter 

 and often coming into orchards and gardens, but among themselves they are 

 rather quarrelsome. The nest is always placed in a cavity, especially the 

 abandoned hole of a Woodpecker or sometimes nesting boxes about homes, 

 and is lined with grasses, moss, strips of bark, and feathers. The five to eight 

 eggs are creamy white, rather coarsely spotted with reddish brown. Similar 

 to the above, but having the crest and entire crown deep black, is the Black- 

 crested Titmouse (P. [B.] atricristatus} of eastern Mexico, whence it ranges 

 northward into southern Texas. Along the Pacific coast of California and 

 western Oregon occurs the Plain Titmouse (P. [B.] inornatus) which is brownish 

 above and has the top of the head grayish ; two other lighter races inhabit Lower 

 California and the southwestern states, respectively. The other American 

 species is the Bridled Titmouse (P. [B.]wollweberi), so called from the presence 

 of a black stripe on the side of the head and a black collar and throat; it ranges 

 from the table-lands of Mexico into the adjacent United States. 



The best-known Old World representative of the Crested Tits is the Crested 

 Titmouse (P. [Lophophanes] cristatus] of northern and eastern Europe, being not 

 uncommon in parts of Scotland, but rare in England. It is evidently a wilder, 

 shyer bird than our Tufted Titmouse, frequenting coniferous woods, birch woods, 

 and alder swamps where evergreen trees are near, and rarely coming about habi- 

 tations even in winter. It feeds largely upon insects and their larvae, but also 

 on seeds, fruits, and berries, much oftener visiting the ground than most of its 

 congeners, and wandering widely in search of its food except during the nesting 

 season. It has a loud, clear voice, the notes resembling the syllables kirr, kirr, or 

 kirrit. The nest is usually placed in a hole in a tree, the bird either excavating one 

 for itself or making use of an old Woodpecker's hole, but sometimes possession is 

 taken of abandoned Crows' or Magpies' nests. The five or six eggs are white 

 boldly spotted with bright reddish brown. As regards coloration, the Crested 

 Titmouse is brown above and white faintly tinged with brown beneath, the long, 

 pointed crest being black edged with white, and the chin and throat deep black. 



Himalayan Sultan Bird . Brief mention should be made of a very striking 

 bird of the eastern Himalayas, known as the Sultan Bird (Parus or Melano- 

 chlora sultanea). About eight inches long, it has the entire upper plumage, 

 including the head and breast, deep black, the head set off by a long, pointed 



