Plate LXVIIL 



Fig. 5. LOPHOPHANES BIOOLOR-Tufied Titmouse. 



The Tufted Titmouse is a common resident, inhabiting both town and country. It builds its nest in 

 May or June, and occasionally a second brood" is hatched the latter part of July. 



LOCALITY : 



The nest of this species occurs in nearly every locality, from the shade-tree along the busiest street 

 of a town, to the densest and dreariest woodland; but the favorite place is a tall tree along a river-bank 

 or on a river-island, situations where the soil is continually damp and overgrown with the rankest vege- 

 tation. Here this bird selects a natural cavity or the abandoned home of a Woodpecker in a part of the 

 tree so high that it rears its young in absolute security from man. 



POSITION : 



The nest rests upon the floor of the cavity, generally a considerable distance from the opening. Its 

 height from the ground is usually forty or fifty feet; occasionally it is as low as eight or ten feet. 



MATERIALS : 



The amount of material in the nest depends largely upon the size and condition of the chosen cavity. 

 Commonly there is only sufficient to make a warm, soft lining upon which the eggs are placed. The 

 chief substances employed are bits of leaves, grasses, lichens, moss, and often a few feathers and hairs. 

 Dr. Wheaton has found the eggs resting on the bare floor of the cavity. 



EGGS: 



The complement of eggs is five or six. They measure in long-diameter from .66 to .74, and in short- 

 diameter from .53 to .57; a common size being about .54 x .70. The ground-color is pure white. The 

 markings are made up of spots and speckles, rarely blotches, of brown-madder. On some specimens the 

 color is deep and the spots large and confluent at the base. Others are thickly spotted and speckled 

 from point to base, but most abundantly at the base, with a very light shade of color. Others, and this 

 is perhaps the most frequent type, are sparingly spotted and speckled from point to base, with a slight 

 tendency to the formation of a wreath about the crown. Deep shell-marks are not numerous. 



DIFFERENTIAL POINTS: 



See Table. 



REMARKS : 



Fig. 5, Plate LXVIII, illustrates three eggs of the Tufted Titmouse, of the usual shapes, sizes, and 



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