222 BIRDS — PAEID^. 



singular habit of amusing itself somewhat as the House Wren is said 

 to do. On two occasions I have found them employed in filling 

 holes in trees with the flowers of forest trees. In the first instance 

 I watched the birds, apparently a pair, for several days, and saw 

 them carry for a considerable distance the blossoms of the ash, and de- 

 posit them in a hole in an ash tree about twenty feet from the ground. 

 At length, tired of waiting, I mounted the tree, and found a dark hole 

 only. A stick was thrust into it for a distance of four or five feet, and 

 met no resistance. On the second occasion I met with a similar experi- 

 ance, except that disappointment was not unlocked for. A lady friend 

 complained to me that a pair of these birds vexed her much by picking 

 to pieces and carrying away the moss from her hanging baskets. A gas- 

 post had been put in position in the vicinity, but no lantern or gaspipe 

 had been attached. Into the cavity of this the birds carried the moss 

 and any other articles which they found portable. Conjecture fails to 

 account for such freaks. 



The nest of the Crested Titmouse is placed in some natural cavity of 

 a tree ; a hollow in the fork of an apple tree is a favorite spot. The ma- 

 terials composing it are few, generally bits of moss, leaves, and grass. I 

 have found the eggs on the bare floor of the cavity. The eggs are white, 

 thickly sprinkled with reddish-brown, and sparsely with lilac spots. 

 They measure .75 by .56 inch. 



Mr. Langdon (1. c. Bull.) records two cases of partial albinism in Ohio 

 specimens of this species. 



Genus PARUS. Llddssus. 



Head not crested. Body and head stout. Upper and lower outlines of bill only 

 slightly convex. Tarsus but little longer than middle toe. 



Parus ATEICAPILLUS L. 

 Black-capped Oliiclxadee. 

 Paru8 atncajaillus, Kirtland, Ohio Geolog. Surv., 1838, 164. — Read, Fam. Visitor, iii, 1853, 

 335; Proc. Philad. Acad. Nat. Sci , vi, 395, 1853.— Whbaton, Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1860, 

 365; Reprint, 1861, 7; Food of Birds, etc., Ohio Agric. Rep. for 1874, 562; Reprint, 

 1875, 2.— Langdon, Cat. Birds oi Gin., 1877, 4 ; Journ. Cin. Soo. Nat. Hist., i, 1878, 

 111; Reprint, 2; Revised List, Journ. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., i, 1879, 170; Reprint, 4. 

 Parus atricapillus, LiNN^cs, Syst. Nat., i, 1766, 341. 



Above brownish ash. Crown and nape, chin and throat black. Beneath white, brown- 

 ish on sides. Wing and tail feathers more or less whitish edged. Length, 5 ; wing and 

 tail, Hi- 



North America ; chiefly northern and eastern. 



Abundant resident in Northern and probably Eastern Ohio. Not com- 

 mon winter visitor in Central and Southern Ohio. Twenty-five years 



