(WS ghey) 
CHESTNUT-BACKED TITMOUSE. 
PARUS RUFESCENS, TOWNSEND. 
PLATE CCCLIII. Mate ann Femate. 
You have before you on the same plate three species of Parus, two 
of which are new to science. Of specimens of these I obtained pos- 
session in consequence of the purchase which I made of part of Dr 
Townsenv’s hard-earned collection, made during his laborious expedi- 
tion over the Rocky Mountains, and the valley of the Columbia River. 
For an account of the habits of those which are not found to the east 
of the Rocky Mountains, I am indebted to my friends Tuomas Nut- 
TALL, Esqg., and J. K. Townsenp, M.D. Mr Nurratu’s notice re- 
specting the present species is as follows :— 
‘“‘ The Chestnut-backed Titmouse is seen throughout the year in 
the forests of the Columbia, and as far south as Upper California, in 
all which tract it breeds, forming, as I have some reason to believe, 
a pendulous, or at least an exposed nest, like some of the European 
species. It is made of large quantities of hypna and lichens, and co- 
piously and coarsely lined with deer’s hair and large feathers, such as 
those of the Grouse and the Jay. They are commonly seen in small 
flocks of all ages in the autumn and winter, when they move about 
briskly, and emit a number of feeble querulous notes, after the manner 
of the Chickadee, or common species, Parus atricapillus, but seldom 
utter any thing like a song, though now and then, as they glean about, 
they utter a @she, de, de, or tdee, tdee, dee, their more common queru- 
lous call, however, being like fshe, dé, de, vait, Pshe, de, de, vait, some- 
times also a confused warbling chatter. The busy troop, accompanied 
often by the common species, the Regulus tricolor, and the small yel- 
low-bellied Parus, are seen flitting through bushes and thickets. care- 
fully gleaning insects and larve for an instant, and are then off to some 
other place around, proceeding with restless activity to gratify the 
calls of hunger and the stimulus of caprice. Thus they are seen to 
rove along for miles together, until satisfied or fatigued, when they re- 
tire to rest in the recesses of the darkest forests, situations which they 
eventually choose for their temporary domicile, where in solitude and 
