138 BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE. 



BLACK-CAPT TITMOUSE. {Parus atricapillus.) 



PLATE VIII.-Fig. 4. 



Parus atricapillus, Linn. Syst. i. 341, '6. — Gruel. Syst. i. 1008. — La mesange k 

 tete noire de Canada, Buffon, v. 408. —Canada Titmouse, Arct. Zool. i. No. 

 328.— Lath. Syn. iv. 542, 9,—Peale's Museum, No. 7380. 



PARUS ATRICAPILLTJS.-lAwxmvs,.* 

 Parus atricapillus, JBonap. Synop. p. 100. — North. Zool. p. 226. 



This is one of our resident birds, active, noisy, and restless ; 

 hardy beyond any of bis size, braving the severest cold of our 

 continent as far north as the country round Hudson's Bay, and 

 always appearing most lively in the coldest weather. The 

 males have a variety of very sprightly notes, which cannot, 

 indeed, be called a song, but rather a lively, frequently 

 repeated, and often varied twitter. They are most usually 

 seen during the fall and winter, when they leave the depths 

 of the woods, and approach nearer to the scenes of cultivation. 

 At such seasons, they abound among evergreens, feeding on 

 the seeds of the pine tree ; they are also fond of sunflower 

 seeds, and associate in parties of six, eight, or more, attended 

 by the two species of nuthatch already described, the crested 

 titmouse, brown creeper, and small spotted woodpecker ; the 

 whole forming a very nimble and restless company, whose 

 food, manners, and dispositions are pretty much alike. About 

 the middle of April they begin to build, choosing the deserted 

 hole of a squirrel or woodpecker, and sometimes, with in- 

 credible labour, digging out one for themselves. The female 

 lays six white eggs, marked with minute specks of red ; the 

 first brood appear about the beginning of June, and the second 

 towards the end of July ; the whole of the family continue to 



* This is very closely allied to the Parus palustris, the marsh tit- 

 mouse of Europe ; but it is exclusively American, and ranges extensively 

 to the north. The authors of the " Northern Zoology " mention them as 

 one of the most common birds in the fur countries ; a family inhabits 

 almost every thicket. — Ed. 



