400 U. S. P. R. K. EXP. AND SURVEYS — ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 
PAEOLDES FLAVICEPS, Baird. 
Jlegilhalus flaviceps, Sundevall, Ofversigt af Vet. Ak. Forhandl. VII, v, 1850, 129. «' Sitka or California." 
Psaltria flaviceps, Sclater, Pr. Zool. Soc. XXIV, Mar. 1856, 37. 
Conirostrum ornatum, Lawrence, Ann. N. Y. Lyceum, V, May, 1851, 113 ; pi. v, fig. 1. Texas. (First introduction 
into fauna of U. S.) 
Sr. Ch. — Above, cinereous ; head, all round, yellow : lesser wing coverts chestnut ; beneath brownish white. Length, 4.50 
inches ; wing, 2.16 ; tail, 2.35. 
Hab. — Rio Grande. Valleys of Texas and Mexico. 
In this species the bill is conical ; the outlines of the upper mandible very gently and uni- 
formly curved from the base, with an almost inappreciable downward bend near the tip. In 
one specimen the lower edge of the lower jaw is curved slightly downward ; in another it is still 
curved, but almost straight. The ridge is rounded ; the nostrils covered with superincumbent 
feathers. The feet are stout and strong, but rather short ; the hind claw is short. The wings 
are moderate ; the exposed part of the first or spurious quill is contained about two-and-a-half 
times in the second primary, which is considerably longer than the secondary quills, and barely 
shorter than the second primary ; the third, fourth, and fifth quills are equal, and longest. 
The tail is rather short, slightly rounded ; the feathers moderately broad. 
The upper parts in this bird (excepting the head) are of a light brownish plumbeous, tinged 
with greenish j^ellow ; this color quite distinct at the junction of the downy and hairy portions of 
the feathers, or across their middle line. This yellow is most evident on the rump, but here, as 
elsewhere, is only appreciable when the feathers are raised. The head all round, and the upper 
part of the throat, are greenish yellow ; the feathers on the crown more olivaceous green at their 
tips ; those on the front with a tendency to orange at their bases. The under parts are dull 
brownish white, slightly tinged with greenish yellow on the abdomen. The wings and tail are 
brown, edged with the color of the back ; the edges of the outer tail feathers and of the prima- 
ries, rather paler. The lesser wing coverts are chestnut. 
The specimen described is a winter specimen ; the spring plumage may be brighter. A spe- 
cimen from Saltillo, Mexico, is smaller than one from El Paso. 
This bird differs very much in external form from Psaltriparus minimus, and if the latter really 
belong to Psaltria, then the subject of the present article is erroneously assigned to Psaltria by 
Mr. Sclater. In form it is much more like the sylvicolas, or even the typical titmice ; the bill is 
broader, longer, more conical, and much less curved above than in P. minimus ; the outline of 
the lower jaw also is slightly concave, instead of convex. The wings are larger ; the secondary 
and tertials more nearly of a length ; the outer primaries much less graduated ; the spurious 
first primary smaller. The tail feathers are proportionally broader, shorter, and more nearly 
of a length ; the greatest difference being .16 of an inch instead of .45. The tarsi, toes, and 
claws are shorter and stouter. 
In reality this species has a close resemblance of form to the species of black-capped Parus, 
with graduated tails, as P. septentrionalis. It differs from them, however, in a more elongated 
and pointed bill, less curved above ; the outline of the lower mandible concave below ; the claws, 
especially the hinder one, shorter. The primaries are less graduated, the third being longest, 
(with the fourth and fifth,) instead of being nearly .15 of an inch shorter than the fourth. 
