CHESTNUT-CROWNED TITMOUSE. 161 



Parus minimus, Chestnut-crowned Titmouse, Towns. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philadel- 

 phia, vol. vii. p. 190. 

 Chestnut-crowned Titmouse, Parus minimus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iv. p. 382. ■ 



Adult Male. 



Bill short, strong, compressed; upper mandible with its outline arched, 

 the sides sloping and convex; the edges sharp, the tip descending, acute, 

 and considerably exceeding that of the lower; which has the angle short, the 

 dorsal line ascending and very slightly convex, the edges sharp, the tip 

 acute. Nostrils round, basal. Head rather large, broadly ovate, convex in 

 front; neck short; body slender. Feet of moderate length, tarsus propor- 

 tionally longer than in any other American species, stout, compressed, with 

 seven anterior scutella, and two lateral plates, forming a very sharp edge 

 behind. Toes moderately stout, the first with its claw equal to the third, 

 the anterior united as far as the first web. Claws rather large, arched, com- 

 pressed, acute. 



Plumage soft and blended. Wings short, very broad, concave, rounded; 

 first quill half the length of the second, which is a quarter of an inch 

 shorter than the outer secondaries. Tail very long, being half the entire 

 length of the bird, slightly arched, much rounded, and a little emarginate. 



Bill black; feet and claws dusky or blackish-brown. Upper part of the 

 head and hind neck dull greyish-brown; upper parts brownish-grey; wings 

 and tail dusky brown, tinged with grey, the margins of the quills and tail- 

 feathers greyish-white. Cheeks of a paler tint than the head; all the lower 

 parts brownish-white, the sides tinged with reddish. 



Length to end of tail 4-| inches; wing from flexure ly|; tail 2^; bill 

 along the ridge ff; tarsus ^y hind toe 2 |> its claw f|; middle toe T \, its 

 claw ^. 



Adult Female. 



The female is rather smaller, and its colours are somewhat paler. 



A nest presented to me by Mr. Nuttall is of a cylindrical form, nine 

 inches long and three and a half in diameter. It is suspended from the fork of 

 a small twig, and is composed externally of hypna, lichens, and fibrous roots, 

 interwoven so as to present a smooth ish surface, and with a few stems of 

 grasses, and some feathers of Garrulus Stelleri intermixed. The aperture, 

 which is at the top, does not exceed seven-eighths of an inch in diameter; 

 but for two-thirds of the length of the nest, the internal diameter is two 

 inches. This part is lined with the cottony down of willows, carefully 

 thrust into the interstices, and contains a vast quantity of soft feathers, chiefly 

 of Steller's Jay, with some others, among which can be distinguished those 

 of Tetrao urophasia,7ius, Columba fasciata, and Tanagra ludoviciana. 

 The eggs, nine in number, are pure white, % of an inch in length, by 3 | broad, 

 and are rather pointed at the small end. 



Vol. II. 28 



