226 



NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 



mixed with yellow on the frontlet. A black line, from the base of the lower mandible, passes 

 over the under-eyelid to the shoulders. Quills and tail clove-brown, the inner margins of the 

 former pale. The chin and whole under plumage pure and bright gamboge-yellow, a broad 

 belt of triangular black spots crossing the upper part of the breast ; under tail coverts 

 whitish ; the inner wing coverts pale ash-grey. Bill dark umber-brown above, pale yellowish- 

 brown at the base below. Orbits yellow. Legs yellowish-brown. 



Form. — Bill depressed, with an acute ridge ; its tip notched and infiexed, vibrissa half 

 the length of the bill. Second and third quills the longest ; the first two lines shorter. Tail 

 long, rounded, and yet notched at the end, the feathers being rather acute. Tarsus long, 

 slender, and naked ; lateral toes equal, scarcely longer than the hind toe, and considerably 

 shorter than the middle one. 









Dimensions 



















Of the male. 















Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin. 





Inch. 



Lin 



Length total 



. 4 



10 



Length of bill from rictus 



. 



G| 



Length of middle nail 









,, of tail 



2 



2 



,, of tarsus 







9 



„ of hind toe 



. 



3 



„ of folded wing 



. 2 



e 



„ of middle toe 



. 



5 



„ of hind nail 



. 



2 



,, of bill above 







43 















[55.] 1. Parus atricapillus. (Linn.) Black-cap Titmouse. 



Sub-family, Parians, Swains. Genus, Parus, Linn. Typical Pari, Swains. 



Parus atricapillus. Linn., i., p. 341, sp. 6. Brisson. Orn., iii., p. 553, pi. 29, f. i. 



Mesange a tete noire de Canada. Buffon. 



Black-capt Titmouse (Parus atricapillus). Wilson, i., p. 134, pi. 8, f. 4. 



Parus atricapillus. Bonap. Syn., p. 100, No. 157. 



Peecheh-keeskishees. Cree Indians. Mesange. Canadian Voyageurs. 



This bird inhabits the whole width of the American continent from latitude 

 65° to the southern districts of the United States throughout the year. Its 

 loose plumage, like that of the Canadian Jay_, is well qualified for its protec- 

 tion in the severe arctic winters. It is so extremely similar to the European 

 Parus palustris that some ornithologists have classed it as the same ; the two 

 species, however, appear to us sufficiently distinct. It is one of the most 

 common birds in the fur-countries, a small family inhabiting almost every 

 thicket. 



DESCRIPTION 



Of the male, killed at Carlton House in April, 1827- 



Colour. — Upper aspect of the head, the nape, chin, and throat velvet-black. A white line 

 from the nostrils through the eye, spreads out on the side of the neck. Back lead-coloured, 



