692 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
difference; either species goes to the ground freely and hunts for food, 
sometimes for several minutes at atime. The idea advanced by Sanderson 
that the White-bellied Nuthatch opens acorns, and perhaps other seeds, 
mainly or entirely for the worms contained, is certainly not tenable in 
regard to the present species and does not commend itself for either species 
so far as our observation goes. 
The note of the Red-bellied Nuthatch is often written ‘hank, hank, 
hank,” as for the White-bellied species, but in reality the notes are widely 
different in pitch and in resonance; those of the Red-bellied Nuthatch 
have been aptly likened to “a tiny tin trumpet,” and the syllables ‘“teng, 
teng, teng” perhaps give some slight idea of the sound. 
While the feeding habits of the two birds are quite similar, and both 
get a large amount of food from the boles and branches of large trees, the 
present species is much oftener seen on the slender branches and among 
the tufts of dead leaves which cling to the twigs through the winter, where 
it undoubtedly collects many a choice morsel in the shape of hibernating 
insects, pupx and eggs. 
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 
Adult male: Head above, from bill to nape, black; remainder of the upper parts clear 
bluish gray, the wing-feathers more brownish; a white stripe from bill to nape over the 
eye and a black stripe through the eye from bill to side of neck; chin white, shading into 
pale reddish-brown, which becomes deeper on the breast, belly and particularly on the 
sides, which it covers completely; middle tail-feathers bluish gray like the back, others 
black, with white blotches, much as in the White-bellied Nuthatch. The female is similar, 
except that the black of the crown and nape is replaced by dark gray. The seasonal 
changes are slight. 
Length 4.10 to 4.75 inches; wing 2.60 to 2.85; tail 1.50. 
Family 70. PARID.1. Titmice, Chickadees. 
The four Michigan species may be separated as follows: 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
A. With a conspicuous crest (Fig. 148). Tufted Titmouse. No. 312. 
AA. Not crested. B, BB. 
B. Top of head glossy black. C, CC. 
C. Outer web of wing and tail feathers white edged. Black-capped 
Chickadee. No. 3138. 
CC. Outer web of wing and tail feathers not white edged. Carolina 
Chickadee. No. 314. 
BB. Top of head clear brown. Hudsonian Chickadee. No. 315. 
312. Tufted Titmouse. Bzolophus bicolor (Linn.). (731) 
Synonyms: Tufted Tit, Tufted Chickadee, Crested Titmouse, Peto Bird.—Parus bicolor, 
Linn., 1766, Wils., 1808, Aud., 1831.—Lophophanes bicolor, Bonap., 1850, and many 
others. 
igure 148, 
The conspicuous crest (like the Blue Jay’s), the gray upper parts, soiled 
white underparts and rusty sides, combine to mark this species beyond 
question. 
