Genus LOPHOPHANES. 
Parus apud Linneeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 340 (1766). 
Lophophanes, Kaup, Natiirl. Syst. p. 92 (1829). 
AurnouGH closely allied to Parus, yet this small group, the members of which are characterized 
by having a conspicuous crest, may very fairly be separated and made to form a distinct genus. 
In the Western Palearctic Region only one species, Lophophanes cristatus, is found, where it is 
resident; but other members of the genus Lophophanes inhabit the northern portions of the 
Indian Region, as well as the Nearctic Region, ranging south into the northern portions of the 
Neotropical Region. 
In habits the members of this genus do not differ from those belonging to the genus Parus ; 
and, like them, they feed on insects, seeds, &c., and build in holes in trees, depositing numerous 
white eggs spotted and slightly blotched with rufous. Occasionally, however, Lophophanes 
cristatus not only takes possession of deserted nests built in the branches of trees, but has been 
known to construct for itself a nest not unlike that of a Wren. 
Lophophanes cristatus, the type of the genus, has the bill strong, somewhat conical, the 
upper mandible slightly curved towards the tip; nostrils basal, small, round, concealed by 
reversed bristly feathers; gape without any bristles; feathers on the crown elongated, forming 
a conspicuous recurved crest; wings moderately short, concave, rounded, first quill short, the 
second about equal to the eighth; tail moderately long, slightly emarginate ; tarsus moderate, 
covered in front with four plates and three inferior scutelle; feet strong, claws long, strong, and 
curved, laterally grooved, and tapering to an acute point; plumage soft, lax, and blended. 
39 
149 
