TUFTED TITMOUSE. 



Parus bicolor. 



Char. Above, bluish ash ; beneath, dull white ; flanks tinged with 

 yellowish brown ; forehead black ; head conspicuously crested. Length 

 5^ to 6/4 inches. 



Nest. In a cavity of a tree or stump ; composed of leaves, moss, or 

 woollen materia], lined with feathers. 



Eggs. 5-8; white or pale cream, spotted with reddish brown; 0.75 

 X 0.55. 



From the geographic limits of this species, as it occurs to 

 me, I am inclined to believe that the bird seen in Greenland 

 may be different from the present, as it scarcely appears to 

 exist north beyond the States of Pennsylvania or New York. 

 They are seldom, if ever, seen or heard in this part of Massa- 

 chusetts, and instead of being more abundant to the north, as 

 believed by Wilson, they are probably not known there at all. 

 In the Southern States, at least in winter and spring, they are 

 very common, and present all the usual habits and notes of the 

 genus. The numbers which I saw in the Southern States from 

 January to March would seem to indicate a migratory habit ; 

 but whether they had arrived from the Northeast, or from the 

 great forests of the West, could not be conjectured. 



The Peto, as I may call this bird from one of his character- 

 istic notes, and the Carolina Wren, were my constant and 

 amusing companions during the winter as I passed through the 

 dreary solitudes of the Southern States. The sprightliness, 

 caprice, and varied musical talent of this species are quite 

 interesting, and more peculiarly so when nearly all the other 

 vocal tenants of the forest are either absent or silent. To 



