122 VERDIN. 
bugs, larve and eggs that lurk in the crevices of bark seems to be their principal 
business. They are very industrious in this pursuit, and too much absorbed in the 
exciting chances of the chase to pay attention to what may be going on around them. 
They are extremely sociable—the gregarious instin€&t common to the Titmice reaches its 
highest developement in their case, and flocks of forty or fifty—some say even of a 
hundred—may be seen after the breeding season has passed, made up of numerous 
families, which, soon after leaving the nest, meet kindred spirits, and enter into intimate 
friendly relations. Often, in rambling through the shrubbery, I have been suddenly 
surrounded by a troop of the busy birds, perhaps unnoticed till the curious chirping 
they keep up attracted my attention; they seemed to pervade the bushes. If I stood 
still, they came close around me, as fearless as if I were a stump, ignoring me alto- 
gether. At such times, it was pleasant to see the earnestness with which they conducted 
affairs, and the energy they displayed in their own curious fashion, as if it were the 
easiest thing in the world to work hard, and quite proper to attend to serious matters 
with a thousand antics. They are droll folk, quite innocent of dignity, superior to the 
trammels of decorum, secure in the consciousness that their wit will carry off any 
extravagance. I used to call them my merry little philosophers—for they took the 
weather as it came, and evidently knew how much better it is to laugh at the world 
than to cry with it. When fretted with the friction of garrison-life, I have often sought 
their society, and amused myself like another Gulliver among the Liliputians.” 
NAMES: Leap-coLeREeD BusH-Tir, Plumbeous Bush-Tit, Leaden Titmouse, Plumbeous Titmouse. — Bleigraue 
Buschmeise (German). 
SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Psaltria plumbea Brd. (1854). PSALTRIPARUS PLUMBEUS Bairp (1858). 
DESCRIPTION: Adult, ‘clear plumbeous, with little or no olive or brownish shade, the top of the head not 
different from the back. Sides of the head pale brownish. Underparts as in P. minimus, but rather 
clearer. Tail considerably longer than the wings. Eyes indifferently yellow or dark brown.—Length 
about 4.50 inches; wings, 2 in. or rather less; tail, 2.25 to 2.50 in.” Coues, B. C. V., p. 125. 
The BLAacK-EARED BusH-Tit, Psaltriparus melanotis Bonap., occurs from eastern 
Mexico south to Guatemala, north to the Rio Grande Valley. 
YVERDIN. 
Auriparus flaviceps BatrD. 
PLate XXXII. Fie. 4. 
Na "KE THE last species noticed, the VERDIN is an architect of extraordinary ability, 
kk and the history of its nidification should be as conspicuous an item in its bio- 
graphy as the nests themselves are in those localities where the birds are abundant. 
At Cape Saint Lucas, according to Mr. Xantus, Verdins are the most numerous of all 
the birds which nest there. The nest is described as a large globular mass of twigs, 
lined with down and feathers, having the entrance on one side, near the bottom. This 
