514 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
Triangles mark breeding and yearlong records 
VERDINS: Subfamily Remizinae 
VERDIN: Auriparus fldviceps flaviceps (Sundevall) 
Plate 53 
Description. — Length: 4-4.6 inches, wing 1.9-2.1, tail 1.7—2. Adults: Whole 
head dull yellow, forehead sometimes tinged with orange-rufous; body brownish gray, 
wings and tail darker with pale edgings, shoulder patch reddish brown; posterior 
underparts becoming whitish, median line sometimes faintly tinged with yellow; 
legs and feet bluish gray. (Female slightly duller in color, especially the yellow 
of head.) Young in juvenal plumage: Similar to adults but without yellow of head 
or reddish brown of wing coverts. After first molt, it becomes indistinguishable 
from the adults. 
Range.— Lower Sonoran desert and arid regions from southeastern California, 
southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, northwestern Arizona, southern New Mexico, 
and southern Texas south to Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Durango, and northern Sonora. 
