BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA.. 425 



Aegithalismis Cabanis," also of southeastern Asia (including north- 

 ern India), is less nearly related to Psaltrij^urus, having the bill very 

 much thicker. It is very near, however, to Acanthiparus, from which 

 it otherwise differs chiefly in style of coloration, the pileum and hind- 

 neck being rufous, in strong contrast with the gray back, and a black 

 patch on the throat, and there is ground for doubt as to whether the 

 two groups should be separated generically. 



Aeffithalos,^ another Palsearctic genus, is still more remotely related 

 to Psaltriparus, having the tail very much longer than the wing and 

 graduated for half its length or more, the bill being short and deep, 

 as in Aegithalisam, but more compressed. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OP PSALTEIPAKUS. 



a. With black on sides of head. 

 6. Entire side of head black, 

 c. Back, scapulars, and rump decidedly brown or olive. 

 d. Back, etc, olive-brown; under parts of body strongly buffy. (Southern 

 Mexico and Guatemala. ). .Paaltriparus melanotis melanotis, male (p. 426) 

 dd. Back, etc., olive or grayish olive; under parts of body dull white, very 

 sUghtly, if at all, tinged with buff. (Central and western Mexico. ) 



Psaltriparus melanotis iulus, male (p. 428) 

 cc. Back, scapulars, and rump olive-gray. (Northern Mexico, southwestern 

 Texas, southern New Mexico, and southern Arizona. ) 



Paaltriparus melanotis lloydi, male (p. 429) 

 66. Side of head only partly black (the black usually confined to a patch on side 

 of occiput, sometimes continued forward toward eye). 

 c. Back, etc., decidedly brown or olive. 



d. Back, etc., olive^brown; under parts of body strongly buffy. 



Psaltriparus melanotis melanotis, female (p. 426) 

 dd. Back, etc., olive or grayish olive; under parts of body dull white or but 



faintly tinged- with buff Psaltriparus melanotis iulus, female (p. 428) 



cc. Back, etc., olive-gray. 



Paaltriparus melanotis lloydi, female and young male (p. 430) 



aa. Without any black on sides of head. 



6. Pileum gray, like back, etc. 



c. Averaging whiter beneath (especially on throat) and more olive-gray on 



back. . . )Psaltriparus melanotis lloydi, some females and young (pp. 429, 430) 



cc. Averaging more grayish and more uniform beneath, with back clearer gray. 



(Arid western United States, from eastern Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming 



to southwestern Texas, southeastern California, and northern parts of 



Sonora and Chihuahua. ) Psaltriparus plumbens (p. 430) 



" Aegiihaliscus Cabanis, Mus. Hein., i, 1850, 90 (type. Paras erythrocephalus 

 Vigors). 



^Aegithalos Hermann, Obs. Zool., i, 1804, 214 (type, Pipra europxa Hermann). 

 Medstwa Leach, Syst. Cat. Mam. and Birds Brit. Mus., 1816, 17 (type, M. vagaus 

 Leach=Parus caudatus Linnaeus). Acredula Koch, Bayr. Zool., i, 1816, 199 (type, 

 ParuscaudatM Linnaeus). Paroides Brehm, Isis, 1828, 1284 (type, Parus caudatus 

 Linnaeus). Orites (not of Keyserling and Blasius, 1840) Gray, List Gen. Birds, 1841, 

 32 (type, Parus caudatus Linnaeus). See Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., ix, 1886, 

 382, 383. 



