FAMILY CINCLIDÆ.—THE DIPPERS
On page 2 will be found the characteristics of this family, which need not be here repeated. There is only a single genus, Cinclus, with four American species, and several from Europe and Asia.
GENUS CINCLUS, BECHSTEIN.
Hydrobata, VIEILLOT, Analyse, 1816 (Ag.).—BAIRD, B. N. A. 229. Cinclus, BECHSTEIN, Gemein. Naturg. 1802. (Not of Moehring, 1752. Type Sturnus cinclus, L.)—SALVIN, Ibis, 1867, 109. (Monograph.)
[Line drawing: Cinclus mexicanus. 8117]
GEN. CHAR. Bill without any bristles at the base; slender, subulate; the mandible bent slightly upward; the culmen slightly concave to near the tip, which is much curved and notched; the commissural edges of the bill finely nicked towards end. Feet large and strong, the toes projecting considerably beyond the tail; the claws large. Lateral toes equal. Tail very short and even; not two thirds the wings, which are concave and somewhat falcate. The first primary is more than one fourth the longest. Eggs white.
The slightly upward bend of the bill, somewhat as in Anthus, renders the culmen concave, and the commissure slightly convex. The maxilla at base is nearly as high as the mandible; the whole bill is much compressed and attenuated. The lateral claws barely reach the base of the middle one, which is broad; the inner face extended into a horny lamina, with one or two notches or pectinations somewhat as in Caprimulgidæ. The stiffened sub-falcate wings are quite remarkable. The tail is so short that the upper coverts extend nearly to its tip.
The species are all dull-colored birds, usually brown, sometimes varied with white on the head, back, or throat. They inhabit mountainous subalpine regions abounding in rapid streams, and always attract attention by their habit of feeding under water, searching among the gravel and stones for their insect prey.
The only other species at all allied to the single North American one are the C. ardesiacus of Central America, and C. pallasi of Eastern Asia. They may be easily distinguished by the following characters:—
Plumage beneath scarcely lighter than that above; head and neck brownish, darkest above. Wing, 4.00; tail, 2.15; bill, .50; tarsus, 1.20; middle toe, .85. Legs (in life), pinkish white (8,496 Fort Mass. N. M.). HAB. Mountains of Middle Province from Sitka, south to Guatemala … var. mexicanus.
Plumage beneath much lighter than that above,—very light along the median line; head not brownish, the contrast in shade between upper and lower surfaces very marked. Wing, 3.50; tail, 2.05; bill, .45; tarsus, 1.30; middle toe, .90. Legs yellow. (42,788 ♂ Costa Rica). HAB. Guatemala and Costa Rica. … var. ardesiacus.[24]
Plumage uniform dusky-brown, middle of belly blackish; back and rump squamated with black; wings and tail blackish-brown. Total length, 8.00; wing, 4.00; tail, 2.50; tarsus, 1.25; bill (to rictus), 1.10 (Salvin). HAB. Lake Baikal to Kamtschatka; Amoorland; S. E. Siberia; Japan (Salvin) … var.pallasi.[25]
Cinclus mexicanus, SWAINS.
AMERICAN DIPPER; WATER OUZEL.
Cinclus pallasi, BON. Zoöl. Jour. II, 1827, 52 (not the Asiatic species). Cinclus mexicanus, SW. Phil. Mag. 1827, 368.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 10.—SALVIN, Ibis, 1860, 190; 1867, 120 (Guatemala).—BAIRD, Review, 60.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska).—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 25. Hydrobata mexicana, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 229.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, Rep. P. R. R, XII, II, 1859, 175 (nest). Cinclus americanus, RICH. F. B. A. II, 1831, 273. Cinclus unicolor, BON.; C. mortoni, TOWNS.; C. townsendi, “AUD.” TOWNS. Figures: BONAPARTE, Am. Orn. II, 1828, pl. xvi, fig. 1.—AUD. Orn. Biog. pl. ccclxx, 435.—IB. Birds Amer. II, pl. cxxxvii.
SP. CH. Above dark plumbeous, beneath paler; head and neck all round a shade of clove or perhaps a light sooty-brown; less conspicuous beneath. A concealed spot of white above the anterior corner of the eye and indications of the same sometimes on the lower eyelid. Immature specimens usually with the feathers beneath edged with grayish-white; the greater and middle wing-coverts and lesser quills tipped with the same. The colors more uniform. Length, 7.50; wing, 4.00; tail, 2.55.
Young. Similar to the adult, but much mixed with whitish medially beneath; this in form of longitudinal suffusions.
Autumnal and winter specimens have numerous transverse crescents of whitish on lower parts and wings,—these very especially conspicuous posteriorly; the secondaries are also conspicuously terminated with a white crescent. Bill brown, paler toward base of lower mandible. In spring and summer the bill entirely black, and the whitish markings almost entirely disappear; the young bird has a greater amount of white beneath than the adult in winter dress, and this white is disposed in longitudinal, not transverse, suffusions. The color of the legs appears to be the same at all seasons.
Specimens, of any age, from the coast of Oregon and the Cascade Mountains, have the head more deeply brownish than those from other regions.
HAB. Found through the mountainous region of the central and western part of North America, from Fort Halkett south into Mexico and Guatemala. Orizaba (Alpine region) SUMICH. None received from the coast region of California. Abundant on the N. W. coast, Laramie Peak and Deer Creek, Neb.
This species has a wide range along the mountainous region of North and Middle America. Mexican specimens are darker.
HABITS. This interesting bird inhabits exclusively the mountainous portions of North America west of the Mississippi from Alaska south to Guatemala. It does not appear to have been obtained on the coast of California, nor in the valley of the Mississippi. In the British Possessions specimens have been procured on Fraser’s River, at Fort Halkett, and at Colville. At the latter place Mr. J. K. Lord states that a few remain and pass the winter. They are found among the mountain streams of Vera Cruz, and probably throughout Mexico, and no doubt may be met with in all the highlands between these extreme points. Dr. Newberry met with it in the rapid streams of the Cascade Mountains. He describes it as flitting along in the bed of the stream, from time to time plunging into the water and disappearing, to appear again at a distant point, up or down the stream, skipping about from stone to stone, constantly in motion, jerking its tail and moving its body somewhat in the manner of a wren.
Dr. Cooper observed this species both on the Columbia and its tributaries, and also among the mountain streams of the Coast Range west of Santa Clara. At the latter place he found a pair mated as early as March 16th. At sunset he heard the male singing very melodiously, as it sat on one of its favorite rocks in the middle of the foaming rapids, making its delightful melody heard for quite a long distance above the sound of the roaring waters.
“This bird,” adds Dr. Cooper, “combines the form of a sandpiper, the song of a canary, and the aquatic habits of a duck. Its food consists almost entirely of aquatic insects, and these it pursues under water, walking and flying with perfect ease beneath a depth of several feet of water.” He also states that they do not swim on the surface, but dive, and sometimes fly across streams beneath the surface; that their flight is rapid and direct, like that of a sandpiper; also that they jerk their tails in a similar manner, and generally alight on a rock or log.
Dr. Cooper on the 5th of July found a nest of this bird at a saw-mill on the Chehalis River, built under the shelving roots of an enormous arbor-vitæ that had floated over, and rested in a slanting position against the dam. The floor was of small twigs, the sides and roof arched over it like an oven, and formed of moss, projecting so as to protect and shelter the opening, which was large enough to admit the hand. Within this nest was a brood of half-fledged young. The parents were familiar and fearless, and had become accustomed to the society of the millers. They had previously raised another brood that season.
The same observant naturalist, some time afterwards, in May, found the nest of another pair, a few miles north of Santa Clara. This was built near the foot of a mill-dam, resting on a slight ledge under an overhanging rock, from which water was continually dropping. It was, in shape, like an oven, with a small doorway, and it was built externally of green moss, which, being still living, prevented the easy discovery of the nest. It was lined with soft grass, and contained young.
These birds are found singly or in pairs, and never more than two together. They are never found near still water, and frequent only wild mountain-streams, cascades, eddies, and swift currents.
According to Mr. Dall’s observations in Alaska, the species is essentially solitary. He obtained several specimens in January, February, and March, always near some open, unfrozen spots in the Nulato River. It was only found in the most retired spots, and almost invariably alone. When disturbed, it would dive into the water, even in midwinter.
Mr. Ridgway describes the Dipper as remarkably quick, as well as odd, in its movements,—whether walking in the shallow bed of the stream, or standing on a stone along the edge, continually tilting up and down, now chattering as it flies rapidly along the stream, again alighting into the water, in which it wades with the greatest facility. Its flight is remarkably swift and well sustained, and in manner is very unusual, the bird propelling itself by a rapid buzzing of the wings, following in its flight every undulation in the course of the stream into which it drops suddenly. Its song is described as remarkably sweet and lively, in modulation resembling somewhat that of the Harporhynchus rufus, but less powerful, though sweeter in effect.
Dr. E. Baldamus, of Halle, who possesses specimens of the eggs of this species, describes them as pure white in color, oval in shape, and hardly distinguishable from those of the European C. aquaticus.
A nest of this bird obtained by Mr. J. Stevenson, of Hayden’s Expedition, in Berthoud’s Pass, Colorado, is a hemisphere of very uniform contour built on a rock, on the edge of a stream. Externally it was composed of green moss, in a living state; within is a strong, compactly built apartment, arched over, and supported by twigs, with a cup-like depression at the bottom, hemispherical and composed of roots and twigs firmly bound together. The structure is 7 inches in height externally, and has a diameter of 10½ inches at the base. Within, the cavity has a depth of 6 inches; the entrance, which is on one side, is 3½ in breadth by 2½ in height. The eggs were three in number, uniform, dull white, and unspotted. They measure 1.04 inches by .70. They have an elongated oval shape, and are much pointed at one end.
FAMILY SAXICOLIDÆ.—THE SAXICOLAS
The general characters of this family have already been given on p. 2, as distinguished from the Turdidæ. The relationships are very close, however, and but little violence would be done by making it a subfamily of Turdidæ or even a group of Turdinæ, as was done in the “Birds of North America.”
While the group is very well represented in the Old World, America has but one peculiar genus Sialia, and another Saxicola, represented by a single species, a straggler, perhaps, from Greenland on the one side and Siberia on the other. The diagnostic characters of these are as follows, including Turdus to show the relationships of the three genera:—
Turdus. Tarsi long, exceeding the middle toe; wings reaching to the middle of the tail, which is about four fifths the length of the wings. Bill stout; its upper outline convex toward the base. Second quill shorter than fifth.
Saxicola. Tarsi considerably longer than the middle toe, which reaches nearly to the tip of the tail. Tail short, even; two thirds as long as the lengthened wings, which reach beyond the middle of the tail. Second quill longer than fifth. Bill attenuated; its upper outline concave towards the base.
Sialia. Tarsi short; about equal to the middle toe. Wings reaching beyond the middle of the tail. Bill thickened.
GENUS SAXICOLA, BECHSTEIN.
Saxicola, BECHSTEIN, Gemeinnützige Naturg. 1802. (Type, S. œnanthe.)
[Line drawing: Saxicola œnanthe, Bechst.]
GEN. CHAR. Commissure slightly curved to the well-notched tip. Culmen concave for the basal half, then gently decurving. Gonys straight. Bill slender, attenuated; more than half the length of head. Tail short, broad, even. Legs considerably longer than the head; when outstretched reaching nearly to the tip of tail. Third quill longest; second but little shorter. Claws long, slightly curved; hind toe rather elongated.
As already stated, America possesses but a single member of this group of birds, so well represented in the Old World. The color is bluish-gray, with wings, a stripe through the eye, and the middle of exposed tail-feathers black.
Saxicola œnanthe, BECHST.
THE WHEAT-EAR.
Motacilla œnanthe, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1758, 186. Saxicola œnanthe, BECHST. “Gemein. Naturg. 1802,” and of European authors.—HOLBÖLL, Orn. Grœn. (Paulsen ed.), 1846, 23 (Greenland).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 220 (Europe); Review, 61.—JONES, Nat. Bermuda, 1859, 28 (Bermuda).—COUES, Pr. A. N. S. 1861, 218 (Labrador).—REINHARDT, Ibis, 1861, 5 (Greenland).—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska). Saxicola œnanthoides, VIGORS, Zoöl. Blossom, 1839, 19 (N. W. America).—CASSIN, Ill. I, 1854, 208, pl. xxxiv (Nova Scotia).
SP. CHAR. (Description from European specimen.) Male in spring, forehead, line over the eye, and under parts generally white; the latter tinged with pale yellowish-brown, especially on the breast and throat. A stripe from the bill through, below, and behind the eye, with the wings, upper tail-coverts, bill and feet, black. Tail white, with an abrupt band of black (about .60 of an inch long) at the end, this color extending further up on the middle feather. Rest of upper parts ash-gray; quills and greater coverts slightly edged with whitish. Length, 6.00; wing, 3.45; tail, 2.50; tarsus, 1.05.
Autumnal males are tinged with rusty; the black markings brown. The female in spring is reddish-gray; lores and cheeks brown; the black markings generally brownish, and not well defined. Eggs pale light blue. Nest on ground.
HAB. An Old World species (Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia), abundant in Greenland, found probably as an autumnal migrant in Labrador, Canada, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, etc. Occurs also on Norton Sound, near Behring’s Straits. Very occasional in the Eastern States: Long Island.
This bird appears to be abundant in Norton Sound, from which region Mr. Dall has recently brought specimens in full spring plumage. These are decidedly smaller than birds from Labrador and Greenland, but not distinguishable, and seem to agree precisely with skins from Central Europe.
HABITS. The well-known Wheat-ear is entitled to a place in our fauna, not only as an accidental visitor, but also as an occasional resident. Dr. H. R. Storer, of Boston, found them breeding in Labrador in the summer of 1848, and procured specimens of the young birds which were fully identified by Dr. Samuel Cabot as belonging to this species. In the following year Andrew Downs, of Halifax, gave me the specimen described and figured by Mr. Cassin. This was secured late in the summer near Cape Harrison, Labrador, where it had evidently just reared its brood. In 1860 Mr. Elliott Coues obtained another specimen on the 25th of August, at Henley Harbor. It was in company with two others, and was in immature plumage. Its occurrence in considerable numbers on the coast of Labrador is further confirmed by a writer (“W. C.”) in “The Field,” for June 10, 1871, who states that when in that region during the months of May and June he saw a number of “White Ears,” the greater proportion of them being males. He inferred from this that they breed in that country, the apparent scarcity of females being due to their occupation in nesting. Mr. Lawrence has one in his cabinet from Long Island, and the Smithsonian Institution one from Quebec. Specimens have also been obtained in the Bermudas.
Holböll, in his paper on the fauna of Greenland, is of the opinion that the individuals of this species that occur there come from Europe, make their journey across the Atlantic without touching at Iceland, and arrive in South Greenland as early in the season as it does at the former place, the first of May. It reaches Godhaven a month later, at times when all is snowbound and the warmth has not yet released the insects on which it feeds. It is found as far north as the 73d parallel, and even beyond. In September it puts on its winter dress and departs.
Mr. Dall states that several large flocks of this species were seen at Nulato, May 23 and 24, 1868, and a number of specimens obtained. They were said to be abundant on the dry stony hill-tops, but were rare along the river.
The Wheat-ear is one of the most common birds of Europe, and is found, at different seasons, throughout that continent as well as in a large portion of Western Asia. It breeds throughout the British Islands as well as in the whole of Northern Europe and Asia.
Its food is principally worms and insects, the latter of which it takes upon the wing, in the manner of a fly-catcher. The male bird is said to sing prettily, but not loudly, warbling even when on the wing, and hovering over its nest or over its partner. In confinement its song is continued by night as well as by day.
The Wheat-ear begins to make its nest in April, usually concealing it in some deep recess beneath a huge stone, and often far beyond the reach of the arm. Sometimes it is placed in old walls, and is usually large and rudely constructed, made of dried bents, scraps of shreds, feathers, and rubbish collected about the huts, generally containing four pale blue eggs, uniform in color, and without spots, which measure .81 of an inch in length by .69 in breadth.
GENUS SIALIA, SWAINSON.
Sialia, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, Sept. 1827, 173. (Type Motacilla sialis, L.)
[Line drawing: Sialia sialis. 1289]
GEN. CHAR. Bill short, stout, broader than high at the base, then compressed; slightly notched at tip. Rictus with short bristles. Tarsi not longer than the middle toe. Claws considerably curved. Wings much longer than the tail; the first primary spurious, not one fourth the longest. Tail moderate; slightly forked. Eggs plain blue. Nest in holes.
The species of this genus are all well marked, and adult males are easily distinguishable. In all, blue forms a prominent feature. Three well-marked species are known, with a fourth less distinct. The females are duller in color than the males. The young are spotted and streaked with white.
Synopsis of Species.
COMMON CHARACTERS. Rich blue above, duller in the female. Beneath reddish or blue in the male, reddish or light drab in the female. Young with wings and tails only blue, the head and anterior parts of body with numerous whitish spots.
A. Breast reddish, or chestnut.
1. S. sialis. No chestnut on the back; throat reddish; abdomen and crissum white.
Blue of a rich dark purplish shade. Tail about 2.75. Hab. Eastern Province United States, Cuba, and Bermudas … var. sialis.
Blue of a greenish shade. Tail about 3.20. Hab. East Mexico and Guatemala … var. azurea.[26]
2. S. mexicana. Chestnut, in greater or less amount, on the back; throat blue; abdomen and crissum blue. Hab. West and South Middle Province United States, south to Jalapa, Cordova, and Colima.
B. Breast blue (light drab in ♀).
3. S. arctica. Entirely rich greenish-blue; abdomen white. Hab. Middle Province United States; Fort Franklin, British America.
Sialia sialis, BAIRD.
EASTERN BLUEBIBD.
Motacilla sialis, LINN. S. N. 1758, 187 (based on CATESBY, I, pl. xlvii). Sialia sialis, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 222; Rev. 62.—BOARDMAN, Pr. Bost. Soc. 1862, 124 (Calais, Me.; very rare).—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 465 (Texas, winter).—SAMUELS, B. N. Eng., 175. Sialia wilsoni, SWAINSON, Zoöl. Jour. III, 1827, 173.—CAB. Jour. 1858, 120.—GUNDLACH, Cab. Jour. 1861, 324; Repertorio, 1865, 230.—JONES, Nat. Bermuda, 1859, 28, 66 (resident in Bermuda). Sylvia sialis, LATH.; Ampelis sialis, NUTT.; Erythraca wilsoni, SW. Figures: VIEILLOT, Ois. Am. Sept. II, pl. ci, cii, ciii.—WILS. I, pl. iii.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, pl. cxiii.—IB. B. A. II, pl. cxxxiv.—DOUGHTY, Cab. I, pl. xii.
SP. CHAR. Entire upper parts, including wings and tail, continuous and uniform azure-blue; the cheeks of a duller tint of the same. Beneath reddish-brown; the abdomen, anal region, and under tail-coverts white. Bill and feet black. Shafts of the quills and tail-feathers black. Female with the blue lighter, and tinged with brown on the head and back. Length, 6.75; wing, 4.00; tail, 2.90.
Young. Males of the year dull brown on head and back; and lesser coverts streaked, except on head, with white. Throat and fore part of breast streaked with white. Tertials edged with brown. Rest of coloration somewhat like adult.
HAB. Eastern United States; west to Fort Laramie, Milk River; north to Lake Winnipeg; resident in Bermuda; Cuba (rare), GUNDLACH.
A specimen from Guatemala (50,411 ♂, Van Patten) referrible to the var. azurea is undistinguishable in color from North American examples; the wings and tail are longer, however, measuring respectively 4.20 and 3.00.
HABITS. The Bluebird is abundant throughout the eastern portion of North America, breeding in nearly every part, from Georgia and Louisiana to the Arctic regions, with only this exception, that near the seaboard its migrations do not extend so far to the north as in the interior. It is very rarely to be met with beyond the Penobscot, although Professor Verrill mentions it as very common in the western part of Maine. It is found throughout the year in the Bermudas, and occasionally in Cuba. The Selkirk Settlement is the most northern locality to which it has been traced. It is not known to occur farther west than the highlands west of the Mississippi.
Through all the Eastern States the Bluebird is one of the most familiar and welcome of the earliest visitors of spring, usually making its appearance as early as the first of March. In mild seasons they come in the latter part of February, long before there is any apparent relaxation of the severity of winter. In 1857, in consequence of the unusual mildness of the season, Bluebirds appeared in large numbers as early as the 15th of February, and remained apparently without suffering any inconvenience, although the weather subsequently became quite severe. In 1869 their first appearance was observed as early as the 28th of January, the earliest period of which I can find any record.
In the Middle States, with every mild winter’s day, the Bluebirds come out from their retreats, and again disappear on the return of severer weather. Later in the season, or early in March, they return and make a permanent stay.
When well treated, as the Bluebirds almost universally are, they return year after year to the same box, coming always in pairs. The marked attentions of the male bird are very striking, and have been noticed by all our writers. He is very jealous of a rival, driving off every intruder of his own species who ventures upon the domain he calls his own. Occasionally the pair suffer great annoyance from vexatious interferences with their domestic arrangements by the house wren, who unceremoniously enters their homestead, despoils it of its carefully selected materials, and departs. At other times the wren will take possession of the premises and barricade the entrance, making the return of its rightful owners impossible.
The song of the Bluebirds is a low warble, soft and agreeable, repeated with great constancy and earnestness, and prolonged until quite late in the season. Just before their departure, late in October, the sprightliness of their song nearly ceases, and only a few plaintive notes are heard instead.
The food of the Bluebird consists principally of the smaller coleopterous insects, also of the larvæ of the smaller lepidoptera. In the early spring they are very busy turning over the dry leaves, examining the trunks and branches of trees, or ransacking posts and fences for the hiding-places of their prey. In the fall their food partakes more of a vegetable character.
The Bluebird selects as a suitable place for its nest a hollow in the decayed trunk of a tree, or boxes prepared for its use. Their early arrival enables them to select their own site. The nest is loosely constructed of soft materials, such as fine grasses, sedges, leaves, hair, feathers, etc. These are rarely so well woven together as to bear removal. The eggs are usually five and sometimes six in number. There are usually three broods in a season. Before the first brood are able to provide for themselves, the female repairs her nest and commences incubation for a second family. The young birds are, however, by no means left to shift for themselves. The male bird now shows himself as devoted a parent as in the earlier spring he had proved himself an attentive mate. He watches over the brood even after the second family appears and claims his attention. We often find him dividing his cares in the latter part of the season with two broods, and at the same time supplying his mate with food, and occasionally taking her place on the nest.
The eggs of the Bluebird are of a uniform pale blue, measuring about .81 of an inch in length by .62 in breadth.
In Guatemala is found a local race differing in its lighter under colors and in the greenish tinting of its blue (S. azurea). The S. sialis is also found in the more open districts of the elevated regions where it is numerous. It is there known as “El azulejo.”
Sialia mexicana, SWAINS.
CALIFORNIA BLUEBIRD.
Sialia mexicana, SW. F. B. Am. II, 1831, 202.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1856, 293 (Cordova): 1857, 126 (California); 1859, 362 (Xalapa).—IB. Catal. 1861, 11, no. 66.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 223; Review, 63.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. XII, II, 1859, 173.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 28. Sialia occidentalis, TOWNS., AUD.; Sialia cæruleocollis, VIGORS. Figures: AUD. B. A. II, pl. cxxxv.—IB. Orn. Biog. V, pl. cccxciii.— VIGORS, Zoöl. Beechey’s, Voy. 1839, pl. iii.
SP. CHAR. Bill slender. Head and neck all round, and upper parts generally bright azure blue. Interscapular regions, sides and fore part of the breast, and sides of the belly, dark reddish-brown. Rest of under parts (with tail-coverts) pale bluish, tinged with gray about the anal region. Female duller above; the back brownish; the blue of the throat replaced by ashy-brown, with a shade of blue. Length, 6.50; wing, 4.25; tail, 2.90.
Young. Tail and wing as in adult; head, neck, back, and breast, dull brown; each feather, except on the crown, streaked centrally with white.
HAB. Western United States, from the Rocky Mountains to Pacific. Not noticed on the Missouri plains, Central British America, or at Cape St. Lucas. Found at Xalapa and Cordova, Mex., SCLATER. Popocatapetl (Alpine region), SUMICHRAST.
As in the others, the colors of this species are much duller in fall and winter. No. 53,319, ♂ (Carson City, Nevada, Feb. 21) differs from others in the following respects: there is hardly any chestnut on the back, there being only just a tinge along each side of the interscapular region; that on the breast is interrupted in the middle, and thrown into a patch on each side of the breast, thus connecting the blue of the throat and abdomen; the blue of the throat is unusually deep.
HABITS. This Bluebird belongs to western North America, its proper domain being between the Rocky Mountains and Pacific, from Mexico to Washington Territory. Mr. Nuttall first met with this species among the small rocky prairies of the Columbia. He speaks of its habits as exactly similar to those of the common Bluebird. The male is equally tuneful throughout the breeding-season, and his song is also very similar. Like the common species he is very devoted to his mate, alternately feeding and caressing her and entertaining her with his song. This is a little more varied, tender, and sweet than that of the Eastern species, and differs in its expressions.
Nuttall describes this as an exceedingly shy bird, so much so that he found it very difficult to obtain a sight of it. This he attributes to the great abundance of birds of prey. Afterwards, in the vicinity of the village of Santa Barbara, Mr. Nuttall again saw them in considerable numbers, when they were tame and familiar.
Dr. Cooper states that these Bluebirds seem to prefer the knot-holes of the oaks to the boxes provided for them. He does not confirm Mr. Nuttall’s description of its song, which he regards as neither so loud nor so sweet as that of the Eastern species. He describes it as a curious performance, sounding as if two birds were singing at once and in different keys.
Many of this species remain in Washington Territory during the winter, where Dr. Cooper met with them in December. They associated in flocks, frequented roadsides and fences, and fed upon insects and berries.
Dr. Gambel found this species throughout the Rocky Mountains, and always in company with the Sialia arctica, being by far the more abundant species.
Dr. Kennerly mentions finding this species very abundant during his march up the Rio Grande. Through the months of November, December, and January they were always to be seen in large flocks near small streams.
The Western Bluebird constructs a nest usually of very loose materials, consisting chiefly of fine dry grasses. These are not woven into an elaborate nest, but are simply used to line the hollows in which the eggs are deposited. Near San Francisco Mr. Hepburn found a pair making use of the nest of the Hirundo lunifrons. On another occasion the Bluebirds had not only taken possession of the nest of this swallow, but actually covered up two fresh eggs with a lining of dry grasses, and laid her own above them.
The eggs, usually four in number, are of uniform pale blue of a slightly deeper shade than that of the S. sialis. They measure .87 of an inch in length by .69 in breadth.
Dr. Cooper’s subsequent observations of this species in California enabled him to add to his account of it in his report on the birds of that State. He found it abundant in all the wooded districts, except high in the mountains, and thinks they reside through the summer even in the hot valley of the Rio Grande, where he found them preparing a nest in February. On the coast they are numerous as far north as the 49th parallel. He found a nest under the porch of a dwelling-house at Santa Barbara, showing that, like our Eastern species, they only need a little encouragement to become half domesticated. They raise two broods in a season, the first being hatched early in April.
At Santa Cruz he found them even more confiding than the Eastern species, building their nests even in the noisiest streets. One brood came every day during the grape season, at about noon, to pick up grape-skins thrown out by his door, and was delightfully tame, sitting fearlessly within a few feet of the open window.
In regard to their song Mr. Ridgway states that he did not hear, even during the pairing season, any note approaching in sweetness, or indeed similar to, the joyous spring warble which justly renders our Eastern Bluebird (S. sialis) so universal a favorite.
The two Western species of Sialia, though associating during the winter in the region along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, are seldom seen together during the breeding-season; the S. arctica returning to the higher portions of the thinly wooded desert mountains, while the S. mexicana remains in the lower districts, either among the cottonwoods of the river valleys or among the pines around the foot-hills of the Sierra.
Sialia arctica, SWAINS.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.
Erythraca (Sialia) arctica, SWAINS. F. B. A. II, 1831, 209, pl. xxxix. Sialia arctica, NUTTALL, Man. II, 1832, 573.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 224; Rev. 64.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 11, no. 67.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 478. (Texas, winter, very abundant.)—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 29. Sialia macroptera, BAIRD, Stansbury’s Rept. 1852, 314 (larger race with longer wings).
SP. CHAR. Greenish azure-blue above and below, brightest above; the belly and under tail-coverts white; the latter tinged with blue at the ends. Female showing blue only on the rump, wings, and tail; a white ring round the eye; the lores and sometimes a narrow front whitish; elsewhere replaced by brown. Length, 6.25; wing, 4.36; tail, 3.00. (1875.)
Young. Male birds are streaked with white, as in S. sialis, on the characteristic ground of the adult.
HAB. Central table-lands of North America, east to mouth of Yellowstone. One individual collected at Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake. Not common on the Pacific slope; the only specimens received coming from Simiahmoo, Fort Crook, and San Diego. Not recorded as found in Mexico. W. Arizona, COUES.
As already stated, the blue of this species is greener, more smalt-like than in sialis. The females are distinguished from those of the other species by the greener blue, entire absence of rufous, and longer wings.
In autumn and winter the blue of the male is much soiled by amber-brown edges to the feathers, this most conspicuous on the breast, where the blue is sometimes almost concealed; the plumage of the female, too, at this season is different from that of spring, the anterior lower parts being soft isabella-color, much less grayish than in spring.
HABITS. This Bluebird belongs chiefly to the Central fauna, and occupies a place in the Eastern only by its appearance on its borders. It was first procured by Sir John Richardson, at Fort Franklin, in July, 1825. It is abundant throughout the central table-lands of North America, between the Pacific and the mouth of the Yellowstone, from Great Bear Lake to the lower portions of California. In the latter State it is not common.
Mr. Nuttall met with this species in the early part of June, northwest of Laramie Fork. The female uttered a low complaint when her nest was approached. This was constructed in a hole in a clay cliff. Another was found in the trunk of a decayed cedar. In one of these the young were already hatched. The nest was composed of dried grasses, but in very insignificant quantity. Mr. Nuttall found them much more shy than the common species, and describes them as feeding in very nearly the same manner. He afterwards found a nest of the same species in a cliff of the Sandy River, a branch of the Colorado. Both parents were feeding their brood. The female was very uneasy at his approach, chirping, and at intervals uttering a plaintive cry. He states that the male bird has a more plaintive and monotonous song than that of the common Bluebird, and that it has the same warbling tone and manner. He afterwards observed the same species in the winter, at Fort Vancouver, associating with the Western Bluebird.
Dr. Woodhouse found the Arctic Bluebird quite common in the vicinity of Santa Fé, in New Mexico, where they breed about the houses in boxes put up for them by the inhabitants for the purpose.
Mr. Townsend found this species in the vicinity of the Platte River, near the Black Hills, and also on the banks of the Columbia. They confined themselves to the fences in the neighborhood of settlements, occasionally lighting upon the ground and scratching for minute insects. He describes their song as a delightful warble. Its notes resemble those of the common Bluebird, but are so different as to be easily recognized; they are equally sweet and clear, but have much less power.
Neither Dr. Gambel nor Dr. Heermann found this species in California excepting during the winter, and were of the opinion that none remain there to breed.
Dr. Kennerly observed them at different points among the Rocky Mountains, where they frequented the vicinity of his camp early in the morning, at some times in pairs and at others in flocks of four or five.
Mr. J. K. Lord states that he found this Bluebird very abundant between the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains, where they arrive in June and leave in September. After nesting they assembled in large flocks, and fed on the open plains.
The eggs are of a very light blue, paler than those of the other species. They measure .89 of an inch in length by .66 in breadth.
Mr. Ridgway states that he found the Rocky Mountain Bluebird nesting in Virginia City in June. Its nests were built about the old buildings, and occasionally in the unused excavations about the mines. At Austin he also found it common in July, in similar localities. On the East Humboldt Mountains it was very numerous, especially on the more elevated portions, where it nested among the rocks and, though more rarely, in the deserted excavations of woodpeckers in the stunted piñon and cedar trees. He describes it as generally very shy and difficult to obtain, seldom permitting a very near approach. In its habits it is much less arboreal than either S. mexicana or S. sialis, always preferring the open mountain portions in the higher ranges of the Great Basin.
In regard to its notes Mr. Ridgway says: “The common note of this species would, from its character, be at once recognized as that of a Bluebird. Its autumnal note, however, lacks entirely the peculiar plaintiveness so characteristic of that of our Eastern species, and is much more feeble, consisting of a simple weak chirp. Like the S. mexicana, the S. arctica was also never heard to give utterance to anything resembling the lovely spring warbling of the S. sialis.”
FAMILY SYLVIIDÆ.—THE SYLVIAS
CHAR. Bill much shorter than head, slender, broad, and depressed at the base, distinctly notched and decurved at the tip. Culmen sharp-ridged at base. Frontal feathers reaching to the nostrils, which are oval, with membrane above, and overhung—not concealed—by a few bristles or by a feather. Rictal bristles extending beyond nostrils. Tarsi booted or scutellate. Basal joint of middle toe attached its whole length externally, half-way internally. Primaries ten; spurious primary about half the second, which is shorter than the seventh. Lateral toes equal.
The birds of this family are readily distinguished from the Paridæ by the slender bill, notched and decurved at tip; much bristled gape, sharp-ridged culmen, exposed oval nostrils, less adherent toes, etc. They are much smaller than the Turdidæ and Saxicolidæ, with much more slender, depressed bill, longer rictal bristles, etc. The short outer primary, with the primaries ten in number, distinguish them from the Sylvicolidæ.
The following synopsis will serve to characterize the American forms of their respective subfamilies. The species are all among the most diminutive in size with the exception of the Humming-Birds:—
A. Wings longer than the nearly even and emarginate tail. Scutellæ of tarsus scarcely or not at all appreciable. General color olivaceous above. No white on tail.
Nostrils naked. Scutellæ distinct on inner face of tarsus only. Head plain. … Sylviinæ.
Nostrils overhung by bristly feathers. Scutellæ of tarsus not appreciable. Head with a colored central crest … Regulinæ.
B. Wings about equal to the graduated tail. Tarsal scutellæ distinct. Above bluish; tail with white spots or patches.
Nostrils uncovered. Head plain; either bluish or black above.… Polioptilinæ.
SUBFAMILY SYLVIINÆ
CHAR. Size and form of Sylvicolinæ, but with a spurious first primary about one third the second quill. Wings considerably longer than the nearly even or emarginate tail. Feathers of frontal region with bristly points; but not covering the nostrils. Tarsi scutellate anteriorly, but indistinct externally. (Characters drawn with reference to the American form.)
The introduction of this subfamily into the present work is required to accommodate a species of Phyllopneuste collected on the Yukon by the Russian Telegraph Expedition, the first known instance of the existence in North America of a group of birds characteristic of the northern parts of the Old World. Among the smallest of the class, they are eminently sociable, and feed entirely on insects, which they capture mostly on the wing, like flycatchers. The nest is placed on the ground, and is of an oval or spherical form with a round opening on one side. The sexes are similar, and the young differ very little from the parents.
GENUS PHYLLOPNEUSTE, MEYER & WOLF.
Phyllopneuste, MEYER & WOLF, Taschenbuch, 1822.—DEGLAND et GERBE, Ornith. Europ. I, 1867, 543.
[Line drawing: Phyllopneuste borealis. 45909]
GEN. CHAR. Bill shorter than the head; straight, slender, and depressed, notched at tip. Nostrils open. Tarsi lengthened; exceeding the middle toe; scutellate anteriorly, but with the plates indistinct, claws short, much curved. Wings pointed, longer than tail, and reaching at least to its middle; spurious quill extending farther than the upper covert. Tail emarginate. Olivaceous above; yellowish or whitish beneath.
For the purpose of distinguishing this genus from any other North American, it is enough to say that, of the general appearance of the warblers, it has a short spurious first primary, as in the Thrushes, and some Vireonidæ. The single species found as yet within our limits resembles at first sight an immature Dendroica æstiva, but is easily distinguished by the wing formula, the yellowish stripe over the eye, and the brown tail-feathers.
Phyllopneuste borealis, BLAS.
ALASKA WILLOW WARBLER.
Phyllopneuste borealis, BLAS. Ibis, 1862, 69. Phyllopneuste, KENN., BAIRD, Trans. Chicago Acad. Sci. I, ii, p. 313, pl. xxx, fig. 2, 1869.
SP. CHAR. (Description of specimen No. 45,909.) Plumage in August: above olive-green, with a slight shade of brown on top of head, rather lighter behind; beneath white, tinged with greenish-yellow; more olive on the throat and breast; and more yellow behind, inside the wing and on thighs; axillars purer yellow. A well-marked greenish-yellow line from nostrils over the eye to the nape (extending behind the eye nearly as far as from eye to tip of bill), beneath this an olivaceous streak through the eye, running into the mixed olive and yellowish of the cheeks. Quills and tail-feathers brown, edged with olivaceous; the outer edges of primaries more yellowish than those of secondaries; the greater coverts tipped externally with greenish-yellow, so as to form a distinct band across the wing. Bill rather dark brown; paler beneath. Legs dark olive; toes not sensibly different. Nest probably on ground, and domed. Eggs white, spotted with pink.
Spurious quill in length about one fourth the second, which about equals the sixth, or very slightly exceeds it; third and fourth longest; fifth a little shorter.
Dimensions (fresh specimen before being skinned): total length, 4.75; expanse of wings, 6.00; wing from carpal joint, 2.50.
Dimensions (prepared specimen): total length, 4.60; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.00. Exposed portion of first primary, 0.42; of second, 1.56; of longest (measured from exposed base of first primary), 1.85. Bill: length from above, 0.38; from nostril, 0.29; along gape, 1.55. Legs: tarsus, 0.66; middle toe and claw, 0.55; claw alone, 0.16; hind toe and claw, 0.36; claw alone, 0.20.
HAB. Northeast Asia (China, East Siberia); adjacent to Behring’s Straits and Alaska.
This species, in general appearance, apparently comes nearer to P. trochilus than to any other of its congeners. It is, however, more olivaceous-green above, and more yellow beneath, and has a distinct band across the wing. The superciliary light stripe is more distinct and longer; the bill and legs are darker, and the toes not sensibly different in color from the tarsus. The proportion of the quills is much the same, except that the interval between the tips of the fifth and sixth quills is greater, and the second is almost inappreciably longer than the latter, not reaching nearly midway between the two. The first or spurious quill is rather shorter.
A single specimen of this species was obtained August 16, 1866, on St. Michael’s Island, in Norton Sound, Alaska, by Mr. Charles Pease. Mr. Bannister met with no other specimen in that locality, and from this it is inferred that this is not an abundant species there. It was described as a new species under the name of P. kennicottii (Baird), but has been ascertained by Mr. Tristram, to whom it was sent for examination, (Ibis, 1871, p. 231,) to be identical with P. borcalis of Blasius.
Dr. Blasius also states (Naumannia, 1858, p. 303) that a specimen of this species has been obtained on the island of Heligoland, showing it to be also an accidental visitant to Western Europe.
HABITS. Mr. R. Swinhoe, who describes this among the birds of Formosa as P. sylvicultrix, states it to be a summer visitant to Southern China, passing in large numbers through Amoy in its autumnal migrations southeastward, probably to the Philippine Islands, touching at Southwestern Formosa and Twaiwanfoo, where he found them abundant. This was for a few days in October, but he neither saw any before nor afterwards, nor did he meet with any at Tamsuy (Ibis, 1863, p. 307). The same writer (Ibis, 1860, p. 53) speaks of this bird as very abundant in Amoy during the months of April and May, but passing farther north to breed.
We have no information in reference to its habits, and nothing farther in regard to its distribution. As it bears a very close resemblance to the Willow Wren of Europe, P. trochilus, it is quite probable that its general habits, nest, and eggs will be found to correspond very closely with those of that bird.
The European warblers of the genus Phyllopneuste are all insect-eating birds, capturing their prey while on the wing, and also feeding on their larvæ. They frequent the woodlands during their breeding-season, but at all other times are much more familiar, keeping about dwellings and sheepfolds.
The P. trochilus is a resident throughout the entire year in Southern Europe and in Central Asia. That species builds at the foot of a bush on the ground, and constructs a domed nest with the entrance on one side. Their eggs are five in number, have a pinkish-white ground, and are spotted with well-defined blotches of reddish-brown, measuring 0.65 by 0.50 inch, and are of a rounded oval shape.
SUBFAMILY REGULINÆ
CHAR. Wings longer than the emarginated tail. Tarsi booted, or without scutellar divisions.
This subfamily embraces but a single well-defined North American genus.
GENUS REGULUS, CUV.
Regulus, CUV. “Leçons d’Anat. Comp. 1799, 1800.” (Type Motacilla regulus, LINN.) Reguloides, BLYTH. 1847. (Type “R. proregulus, PALL.” GRAY.) Phyllobasileus, CAB. Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 33. (Type Motacilla calendula, LINN.)—Corthylio, CAB. Jour. Orn. I, 1853, 83. (Same type.)
[Line drawing: Regulus satrapa. 28784. ♂]
GEN. CHAR. Bill slender, much shorter than the head, depressed at base, but becoming rapidly compressed; moderately notched at tip. Culmen straight to near the tip, then gently curved. Commissure straight; gonys convex. Rictus well provided with bristles; nostril covered by a single bristly feather directed forwards (not distinct in calendula). Tarsi elongated, exceeding considerably the middle toe, and without scutellæ. Lateral toes about equal; hind toe with the claw, longer than the middle one by about half the claw. Claws all much curved. First primary about one third as long as the longest; second equal to fifth or sixth. Tail shorter than the wings, moderately forked, the feathers acuminate. Colors olive-green above, whitish beneath. Size very small.
We are unable to appreciate any such difference between the common North American Reguli as to warrant Cabanis in establishing a separate genus for the calendula. The bristly feather over the nostril is perhaps less compact and close, but it exists in a rudimentary condition.
The following synopsis will serve as diagnoses of the species:—
Head with entire cap in adult plain olivaceous, with a concealed patch of crimson. Hab. Whole of North America; south to Guatemala; Greenland … calendula.
Head with forehead and line over the eye white, bordered inside by black, and within this again is yellow, embracing an orange patch in the centre of the crown. Hab. Whole of North America … satrapa.
Head with forehead and line through the eye black, bordered inside by whitish, and within this again by black, embracing an orange-red patch in the centre of the crown. Hab. Banks of Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania … cuvieri.
Regulus satrapa, LICHT.
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET.
Regulus satrapa, LICHT. Verz. 1823, no. 410.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska).—LORD (Vancouver Isl.).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1859, 227; Review, 65.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1857, 212 (Orizaba).—BÆDEKER, Cab. Jour. IV, 33, pl. i, fig. 8 (eggs, from Labrador).—PR. MAX. Cab. Jour. 1858, 111.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. R. XII, II, 1859, 174 (winters in W. Territory).—LORD, R. Art. Inst. Wool. 1864, 114 (nest?).—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 476 (Texas, winter).—SAMUELS, 179.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 32. Sylvia regulus, WILS.; Regulus cristatus, VIEILL.; R. tricolor, NUTT., AUD. Figures: AUD. Birds Am. II, pl. cxxxii.—IB. Orn. Biog. II, pl. clxxxiii.—VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. II, pl. cvi.
SP. CHAR. Above olive-green, brightest on the outer edges of the wing; tail-feathers tinged with brownish-gray towards the head. Forehead, a line over the eye and a space beneath it, white. Exterior of the crown before and laterally black, embracing a central patch of orange-red, encircled by gamboge-yellow. A dusky space around the eye. Wing-coverts with two yellowish-white bands, the posterior covering a similar band on the quills, succeeded by a broad dusky one. Under parts dull whitish. Length under 4 inches; wing, 2.25; tail, 1.80. Female without the orange-red central patch. Young birds without the colored crown.
HAB. North America generally. On the west coast, not recorded south of Fort Crook. Orizaba, SCLATER; W. Arizona, COUES.
Specimens of this bird from the far West are much brighter and more olivaceous above; the markings of the face are also somewhat different in showing less dusky about the eye. These may form a variety olivaceus.
The Regulus cristatus of Europe, a close ally of our bird, is distinguished by having shorter wings and longer bill; the flame-color of the head is more extended, the black border is almost wanting anteriorly. The back and rump, too, are more yellow.
HABITS. The Golden-crested Kinglet, or Wren, as it is often called, occurs over nearly the whole of the North American continent. It is abundant from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and throughout the British Provinces, where it chiefly occurs in its breeding-season. In Massachusetts it is a winter resident from October until May. In Maine it is met with in spring and fall, chiefly as a migratory visitor; a few also remain, and probably breed, in the dense Thuja swamps of that State. They are most abundant in April, and again in October. In the vicinity of Calais the Golden-crest is a common summer resident, and, without doubt, breeds there.
Dr. Woodhouse mentions finding this species in abundance in New Mexico and Texas, associated with Nuthatches and Titmice. Dr. Cooper found it abundant in Washington Territory, particularly in the winter, and ascertained positively that they breed there, by seeing them feeding their young near Puget Sound, in the month of August. According to Mr. Ridgway it is much less numerous in the Great Basin than the R. calendula.
The food of this lively and attractive little bird during the summer months is almost exclusively the smaller winged insects, which it industriously pursues amid the highest tree-tops of the forest. At other seasons its habits are more those of the titmice, necessity leading it to ransack the crevices of the bark on the trunks and larger limbs of the forest-trees. It is an expert fly-catcher, taking insects readily upon the wing.
But little is known with certainty regarding its breeding-habits, and its nest and eggs have not yet been described. The presumption, however, is that it builds a pensile nest, not unlike the European congener, and lays small eggs finely sprinkled with buff-colored dots on a white ground, and in size nearly corresponding with those of our common Humming-Bird. We must infer that it raises two broods in a season, from the fact that it spends so long a period, from April to October, in its summer abode, and still more because while Mr. Nuttall found them feeding their full-fledged young in May, on the Columbia, Dr. Cooper, in the same locality, and Mr. Audubon, in Labrador, observed them doing the same thing in the month of August.
According to the observations of Mr. J. K. Lord, this species is very common on Vancouver’s Island and along the entire boundary line separating Washington Territory from British Columbia, where he met with them at an altitude of six thousand feet. He states that they build a pensile nest suspended from the extreme end of a pine branch, and that they lay from five to seven eggs. These he does not describe.
Most writers speak of this Kinglet as having no song, its only note being a single chirp. But in this they are certainly greatly in error. Without having so loud or so powerful a note as the Ruby-crown (R. calendula), for its song will admit of no comparison with the wonderful vocal powers of that species, it yet has a quite distinctive and prolonged succession of pleasing notes, which I have heard it pour forth in the midst of the most inclement weather in February almost uninterruptedly, and for quite an interval.
Bischoff obtained a large number of this species at Kodiak, and also at Sitka, where it seemed to replace the Ruby-crown.
Regulus cuvieri, AUD.
CUVIER’S KINGLET.
Regulus cuvieri, AUD. Orn. Biog. I, 1832, 288, pl. lv, etc.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1859, 228; Rev. Am. Birds, 66.
SP. CHAR. Size and general appearance probably that of R. satrapa. A black band on the forehead passing back, through and behind the eye, separated by a grayish band from another black band on the crown, which embraces in the centre of the crown an orange patch. Length, 4.25 inches; extent of wings, 6.
HAB. “Banks of Schuylkill River, Penn. June, 1812.” AUD.
This species continues to be unknown, except from the description of Mr. Audubon, as quoted above. It appears to differ mainly from R. satrapa in having two black bands (not one) on the crown anteriorly, separated by a whitish one; the extreme forehead being black instead of white, as in satrapa. The specimen was killed in June, 1812, on the banks of the Schuylkill River, in Pennsylvania.
Regulus calendula, LICHT.
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.
Motacilla calendula, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 337. Regulus calendula, LICHT. Verz. 1823, no. 408.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 226; Rev. 66.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1857, 202.—IB. 1858, 300 (mountains of Oaxaca).—IB. 1859, 362 (Xalapa).—IB. 1864, 172 (City of Mex.).—SAMUELS, 178.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska).—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 33.—IB. Ibis, I, 1859, 8 (Guatemala).—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. XII, II, 1859, 174.—REINHARDT, Ibis, 1861, 5 (Greenland).—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 475 (Texas, winter). Corthylio calendula, CAB. Jour. Orn. I, 1853, 83 (type of genus). Regulus rubineus, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 49, pl. civ, cv. Other figures: WILS. Am. Orn. I, 1808, pl. v, fig. 3.—DOUGHTY, Cab. II, pl. vi.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, pl. cxcv.—IB. Birds Am. II, pl. cxxxiii.
SP. CHAR. Above dark greenish-olive, passing into bright olive-green on the rump and outer edges of the wings and tail. The under parts are grayish-white tinged with pale olive-yellow, especially behind. A ring round the eye, two bands on the wing-coverts, and the exterior of the inner tertials white. Male. Crown with a large concealed patch of scarlet feathers, which are white at the base. Female and young without the red on the crown. Length, 4.50; wing, 2.33; tail, 1.85.
HAB. Greenland; whole of North America, and south to Guatemala. Oaxaca (high region, November), SCLATER. Xalapa and Guatemala, SCLATER.
This species of Regulus appears to lack the small feather which, in satrapa, overlies and conceals the nostrils, which was probably the reason with Cabanis and Blyth for placing it in a different genus. There is no other very apparent difference of form, however, although this furnishes a good character for distinguishing between young specimens of the two species.
HABITS. Much yet remains to be learned as to the general habits, the nesting, and distribution during the breeding-season of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It is found, at varying periods, in all parts of North America, from Mexico to the shores of the Arctic seas, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and, although its breeding-places are not known, its occurrence in the more northern latitudes, from Maine to the extreme portions of the continent, during the season of reproduction, indicate pretty certainly its extended distribution throughout all the forests from the 44th parallel northward. None of our American ornithologists are known to have met with either its eggs or its nest, but we may reasonably infer that its nest is pensile, like that of its European kindred, and from being suspended from the higher branches, from its peculiar structure and position has thus far escaped observation.
In the New England States they are most abundant in the months of October and April. A few probably remain in the thick evergreen woods throughout the winter, and in the northern parts of Maine they are occasionally found in the summer, and, without doubt, breed there. In the damp swampy woods of the islands in the Bay of Fundy, the writer heard their remarkable song resounding in all directions throughout the month of June.
The song of this bird is by far the most remarkable of its specific peculiarities. Its notes are clear, resonant, and high, and constitute a prolonged series, varying from the lowest tones to the highest, terminating with the latter. It may be heard at quite a distance, and in some respects bears more resemblance to the song of the English Skylark than to that of the Canary, to which Mr. Audubon compares it.
Their food appears to be chiefly the smaller insects, in pursuit of which they are very active, and at times appear to be so absorbed in their avocation as to be unmindful of the near presence of the sportsman or collector, and unwarned by the sound of the deadly gun. They are also said by Wilson to feed upon the stamens of the blossoms of the maple, the apple, peach, and other trees. Like the other species, they are expert insect-takers, catching them readily on the wing. They are chiefly to be met with in the spring among the tree-tops, where the insects they prefer abound among the expanding buds. In the fall of the year, on their return, they are more commonly met with among lower branches, and among bushes near the ground.
Although presumed to be chiefly resident, during the summer months, of high northern regions, Wilson met with specimens in Pennsylvania during the breeding-season; and it is quite probable that they may occur, here and there, among the high valleys in the midst of mountain ranges, in different parts of the country.
In the winter it is most abundant in the Gulf States, and especially in that of Louisiana. Dr. Woodhouse found it quite abundant throughout Texas, New Mexico, and the Indian Territory. Dr. Cooper found it in Washington Territory, but did not there meet with it in summer. Dr. Suckley, however, regarded it as a transient visitor, rather than a winter resident of that region, and far more abundant from about the 8th of April to the 20th of May, when it seemed to be migrating, than at any other time.
Dr. Kennerly found these birds in abundance near Espia, Mexico, and afterwards, during January, among the Aztec Mountains, and again, in February, along the Bill Williams Fork. He describes them as lively, active, and busy in the pursuit of their insect food. They seem to be equally abundant at this season in California, Arizona, and Colorado.
Mr. Ridgway found them common in June and July among the coniferous woods high upon the Wahsatch Mountains in Utah, and has no doubt that they breed there.
Mr. Dall found this species abundant at Nulato, Alaska, in the spring of 1868, preferring the thickets and alder-bushes away from the river-bank. They appeared very courageous. A pair that seemed about to commence building a nest in a small clump of bushes tore to pieces one half finished, belonging to a pair of Scolecophagus ferrugineus, and, on the blackbirds’ return, attacked the female and drove her away. This was early in June, and Mr. Dall was compelled to leave without being able to witness the sequel of the contest.
A straggling specimen of this bird was taken in 1860 at Nenortatik, in Greenland, and sent in the flesh to Copenhagen.
SUBFAMILY POLIOPTILINÆ
The characters of this subfamily will be found on page 69.
GENUS POLIOPTILA, SCLAT.
Polioptila, SCLATER, Pr. Zoöl. Soc. 1855, 11. (Type, Motacilla cærulea.)
[Line drawing: Polioptila cærulea. 10213]
CHAR. Bill slender, attenuated, but depressed at the base; nearly as long as the head, distinctly notched at the tip, and provided with moderate rictal bristles. Nostrils rather elongated, not concealed, but anterior to the frontal feathers. Tarsi longer than the middle toe, distinctly scutellate; the toes small; the hinder one scarcely longer than the lateral; its claw scarcely longer than the middle. Outer lateral toe longer than the inner. First primary about one third the longest; second equal to the seventh. Tail a little longer than the wings, moderately graduated; the feathers rounded. Nest felted and covered with moss or lichens. Eggs greenish-white, spotted with purplish-brown.
The species all lead-color above; white beneath, and to a greater or less extent on the exterior of the tail, the rest of which is black. Very diminutive in size (but little over four inches long).
Synopsis of Species.
Top of head plumbeous.
Two outer tail-feathers entirely white. A narrow frontal line, extending back over the eye, black. Hab. North America … P. cærulea.
Outer tail-feather, with the whole of the outer web (only), white. No black on the forehead, but a stripe over the eye above one of whitish. Hab. Arizona … P. plumbea.
Top of head black.
Edge only of outer web of outer tail-feather white. Entire top of head from the bill black. Hab. Rio Grande and Gila … P. melanura.
Species occur over the whole of America. One, P. lembeyi, is peculiar to Cuba, and a close ally of P. cærulea.
Polioptila cærulea, SCLAT.
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER; EASTERN GNATCATCHER.
Motacilla cærulea, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 337 (based on Motacilla parva cærulea, EDW. tab. 302). Culicivora cærulea, CAB. Jour. 1855, 471 (Cuba).—GUNDLACH, Repert. 1865, 231. Polioptila cærulea, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1855, 11.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 380.—IB. Rev. 74.—DRESSER, Ibis, 1865, 231.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 35. Motacilla cana, GM. S. N. I, 1788, 973. _? Culicivora mexicana_, BON. Consp. 1850, 316 (not of CASSIN), female. Polioptila mexicana, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 363, 373. Figures: VIEILL. Ois. II, pl. lxxxviii.—WILSON, Am. Orn. II, pl. xviii, fig. 3.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, pl. lxxxiv; IB. Birds Am. I, pl. lxx.
SP. CHAR. Above grayish-blue, gradually becoming bright blue on the crown. A narrow frontal band of black extending backwards over the eye. Under parts and lores bluish-white tinged with lead-color on the sides. First and second tail-feathers white except at the extreme base, which is black, the color extending obliquely forward on the inner web; third and fourth black, with white tip, very slight on the latter; fifth and sixth entirely black. Upper tail-coverts blackish-plumbeous. Quills edged externally with pale bluish-gray, which is much broader and nearly white on the tertials. Female without any black on the head. Length, 4.30; wing, 2.15; tail, 2.25. (Skin.)
HAB. Middle region of United States, from Atlantic to Pacific, and south to Guatemala; Cape St. Lucas. Cuba, GUNDLACH and BRYANT. Bahamas, BRYANT.
HABITS. The Blue-gray Flycatcher is a common species from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, although not met with in the New England States. It is less abundant on the coast than at a distance from it, and has a more northern range in the interior, being met with in Northern Ohio, Michigan, and the British Provinces. Specimens occur in the Smithsonian Institution collection from New York to Mexico and Guatemala, and from Washington Territory to California.
They appear in Pennsylvania early in May, and remain there until the last of September. They are observed in Florida and Georgia early in March, but are not known to winter in that latitude. All the specimens in the Smithsonian collection were obtained between April and October, except one from Southern California, which was taken in December.
Near Washington, Dr. Coues states the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher to be a summer resident, arriving during the first week of April, and remaining until the latter part of September, during which time they are very abundant. They are said to breed in high open woods, and, on their first arrival, to frequent tall trees on the sides of streams and in orchards.
In California and Arizona this species occurs, but is, to some extent, replaced by a smaller species, peculiarly western, P. melanura. There they seem to keep more about low bushes, hunting minute insects in small companies or in pairs, and their habits are hardly distinguishable from those of Warblers in most respects.
The food of this species is chiefly small winged insects and their larvæ. It is an expert insect-catcher, taking its prey on the wing with great celerity. All its movements are very rapid, the bird seeming to be constantly in motion as if ever in quest of insects, moving from one part of the tree to the other, but generally preferring the upper branches.
Nuttall and Audubon, copying Wilson, speak of the nest of this Gnatcatcher as a very frail receptacle for its eggs, and as hardly strong enough to bear the weight of the parent bird. This, however, all my observations attest to be not the fact. The nest is, on the contrary, very elaborately and carefully constructed; large for the size of the bird, remarkably deep, and with thick, warm walls composed of soft and downy materials, but abundantly strong for its builder, who is one of our smallest birds both in size and in weight. Like the nests of the Wood Pewee and the Humming-Bird, they are models of architectural beauty and ingenious design. With walls made of a soft felted material, they are deep and purse-like. They are not pensile, but are woven to small upright twigs, usually near the tree-top, and sway with each breeze, but the depth of the cavity and its small diameter prevent the eggs from rolling out. Externally the nest is covered with a beautiful periphery of gray lichens, assimilating it to the bark of the deciduous trees in which it is constructed.
Occasionally these nests have been found at the height of ten feet from the ground, but they are more frequently built at a much greater elevation, even to the height of fifty feet or more. They are made in the shape of a truncated cone, three inches in diameter at the base and but two at the top, and three and a half inches in height. The diameter of the opening is an inch and a half. In Northern Georgia they nest about the middle of May, and are so abundant that the late Dr. Gerhardt would often find not less than five in a single day, and very rarely were any of them less than sixty feet from the ground. Dr. Gerhardt, who was an accurate and careful observer, speaks of these as the best built nests he had met with in this country, both in regard to strength and its ingeniously contrived aperture, so narrowed at the top that it is impossible for the eggs to roll out even in the severest wind. They have two broods in the season in the Southern States, one in April and again in July.
This Flycatcher lays usually five eggs. These are of a short oval form, somewhat pointed at one end and rounded at the other, and measure .56 of an inch in length by .44 in breadth. Their ground-color is a greenish-white, marked and dotted with small blotches and spots of varying and blending shades of reddish-brown, lilac, and slate.
Polioptila plumbea, BAIRD.
LEAD-COLORED GNATCATCHER; ARIZONA GNATCATCHER.
Polioptila plumbea, BAIRD, Pr. A. N. Sc. VII, June, 1854, 118.—IB. Birds N. Am. 1858, 382, pl. xxxiii, fig. 1; Review, 74.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 37.
SP. CHAR. Above bluish-gray; the forehead uniform with the crown. Eyelids white. A pale grayish-white line over the eye, above which is another of black, much concealed by the feathers, and which does not reach to the bill. Lower parts dull white, tinged with bluish on the sides and with brownish behind. Tail-feathers black; the first and second edged and tipped with white, involving the entire outer web of the first, and most of that of the second; the third with only a very faint edging of the same. Female duller, without the black superciliary line. Length, 4.40; wing, 1.80; tail, 2.30 (7,189).
HAB. Arizona.
This species differs from P. cærulea, in having the ash above less bluish, especially on the forehead; the black superciliary streak is only a horizontal bar, not reaching the bill, whereas in cærulea it not only reaches the bill, but also extends across the forehead; the light superciliary stripe is more distinct. The tail is entirely different, the lateral feathers being almost entirely black, instead of the reverse.
From immature specimens of P. melanura it may be distinguished by larger size and purer white lower parts, and greater amount of white on outer webs of lateral tail-feathers.
HABITS. But little is known in regard to the distribution or history of this species. It appears to be peculiar to Arizona and Mexico. There is no good reason to suppose that it differs materially in any of its habits from the other species of this genus. Dr. Cooper, who observed this species at Fort Mojave, states that it is a winter resident of that region in small numbers; and, so far as he observed, is undistinguishable either in habit or general appearance from either of the other species which at that season are also found there. Its cry of alarm resembles that of the common wren.
Polioptila melanura, LAWR.
BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER.
Culicivora atricapilla, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. V, Sept. 1851, 124 (not of SWAINSON). Culicivora mexicana, CASSIN, Illust. I, 1854, 164, pl. xxvii (not of BON.). Polioptila melanura, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. VI, Dec. 1856, 168.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 382; Review, 68.—HEERMANN, P. R. R. R. vol. X (Williamson), 1859, 39.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 37.
SP. CHAR. Above plumbeous-blue. Whole crown, to bill and eyes, with tail, lustrous blue-black. Beneath pale bluish-gray, almost white on chin and anal region; the flanks and crissum tinged with brown. Edge of eyelids, and margin and tip of outer web of first and second lateral tail-feathers, white. Female and young without the black of the crown. Length, 4.15; wing, 1.85; tail, 2.10.
HAB. San Diego to Fort Yuma and Cape St. Lucas. Arizona, COUES.
Specimens of this species from Cape St. Lucas differ from those of San Diego described in the P. R. R. Report (7,191) in having the whole of the outer web of the outer tail-feather white, and in a rather larger white tip. The colors beneath are a little less ashy, though not of a pure white. The ash of the back is rather lighter and purer. The lores are rather lighter. The first primary is a little larger and broader.
It is possible that the restriction of the white of the outer web of the exterior tail-feather to the outer half only is an unusual circumstance, as both Mr. Cassin and Mr. Lawrence, in their descriptions, speak of the entire outer web being white,—the second feather being of the former character. Under these circumstances there will be little specific difference between the tails of P. melanura and plumbea. The female birds will then be separated by the light superciliary line and much shorter tarsi of P. plumbea,—the latter measuring .63 instead of nearly .70 of an inch.
HABITS. This species was first noticed as belonging to the North American fauna by Captain McCown, who obtained it near Ringgold Barracks in 1850. It has since been noticed at Fort Yuma and at San Diego, and obtained in greater abundance at Cape St. Lucas. It is also found in Mexico. Dr. Cooper says that it is common all winter both at San Diego and at Fort Mohave. It has been traced as far north as latitude 30° in the Sierra Nevada. Its song he describes as a harsh ditty of five parts, something like a wren’s song, with notes like those of a swallow, and also closely resembling the song of Vireo belli. Their scolding note is a faint mew, like that of a cat.
The habits of this species appear to be not unlike those of the peculiar family to which it belongs. All its members are among our smallest birds, are almost exclusively inhabitants of woods, and resemble the Reguli in their restless activity in pursuit of the smallest insects on which they feed. This bird is described as particularly active, quick in its movements, searching with great activity for its food, and preferring low trees and bushes. At times it will dart about in the air in pursuit of small insects.
Mr. John Xantus found these birds to be quite abundant at Cape St. Lucas, and obtained several of their nests. They were generally built among the interlacing tendrils of a wild vine (Antigonon leptopus), and so closely interwoven with the smaller branches as to be inseparable. The nests, like those of all this family, are structures of great beauty and delicacy. They have a height and an external diameter of about 2¼ inches. The cavity is 1½ inches wide at the rim, and fully two inches deep. This great proportionate depth of the nest seems to be characteristic of this genus. The external portion of this nest is composed of a composite blending of various vegetable materials, fine hempen fibres of plants, strips of delicate bark from smaller shrubs, silken fragments of cocoons and downy cotton-like substance, all very closely impacted and felted together, somewhat after the manner of the Humming-Bird. The whole is very softly and warmly lined with a beautifully interwoven and silky fabric composed of the soft down of various plants.
The walls of the nest, though of the softest materials, are so thick and so firmly impacted as to make it a structure remarkably firm and secure against accidents.
The eggs, four in number, measure .55 of an inch in length by .45 in breadth. They are of an oblong-oval shape, their ground-color is a pale greenish-white sprinkled over the entire surface with fine dottings of purple, reddish-brown, and black.
FAMILY CHAMÆADÆ.—THE GROUND-TITS
CHAR. Bill compressed, short, rather conical, not notched nor decurved. Culmen sharp-ridged. Nostrils linear, with an incumbent scale. Rictal bristles reaching beyond nostrils, which are scantily overhung by bristly feathers. Loral feathers bristly and directed forwards. Tarsi booted, or covered with a continuous plate anteriorly, with faint indications of scutellæ on the inner side. Basal joint of middle toe attached for about half its length on either side. Primaries ten; sixth quill longest. Plumage very lax.
[Line drawing: Chamæa fasciata. 5924]
We have found it impossible to assign the genus Chamæa to any recognized family of American birds, and have accordingly been obliged to give it independent rank in this respect, although it may properly belong to some Old World group with which we are not acquainted. In its general appearance it approaches the Paridæ in loose plumage, bristly lores, want of notch to bill, etc.; but differs in the very much bristled rictus, sharp-ridged culmen, linear nostrils, booted tarsi, less amount of adhesion of the toes, etc. It approaches the Sylviidæ in the sharp-ridged culmen and bristly gape, but is otherwise very different. The excessively rounded wing is a peculiar feature, the sixth primary being the longest.
The family may, perhaps, be best placed between the Sylviidæ and Paridæ.
This family has but one representative (Chamæa fasciata), and this confined to the coast region of California. The characters of the genus are those of the family.
GENUS CHAMÆA, GAMBEL.
Chamæa, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. III, 1847, 154. (Type, Parus fasciatus.)
But one species of this genus has as yet been described.
Chamæa fasciata, GAMB.
GROUND-TIT; WREN-TIT.
Parus fasciatus, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Aug. 1845, 265 (California). Chamæa fasciata, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. III, 1847, 154.—IB. J. A. N. Sc. 2d series, I, 1847, 34, pl. viii, fig. 3.—CABANIS, Wiegmann’s Archiv, 1848, I, 102.—CASSIN, Illust. I, 1853, 39, pl. vii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 370.—IB. Review, 76.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 39.
SP. CHAR. Wings scarcely two thirds the length of the tail; both very much graduated. Upper and outer parts generally (including the whole tail) olivaceous-brown, tinged with gray on the head; beneath pale brownish-cinnamon, with obsolete streaks of dusky on the throat and breast. Sides and under tail-coverts tinged with olive-brown. Lores and a spot above the eye obscurely whitish. Tail-feathers with obsolete transverse bars. Total length, 6.20; wing, 2.30; tail, 3.50, graduation, 1.20; exposed portion of first primary, .85, of second, 1.30, of longest, sixth (measured from exposed base of first primary), 1.80; length of bill from forehead, .52, from nostril, .30; along gape, .60; tarsus, 1.05; middle toe and claw, .78; claw alone, .23; hind toe and claw, .55; claw alone, .30. Eggs light blue, unspotted; nest on low bushes.
HAB. Coast region of California.
HABITS. This very interesting species, which seems to combine within itself the principal characteristics of the Wren and the Titmouse, was first described by the late Dr. Gambel of Philadelphia. So far as is now known, it is confined to the coast country of California, from Fort Tejon to the shore and from San Diego to the Sacramento. Dr. Gambel’s attention was first directed to it by the continued sound of a loud, crepitant, grating scold which he was constantly hearing in fields of dead mustard-stalks and other similar places. He at last discovered it to be this species, which from its peculiar habits he called a Wren-tit. It kept close to the ground, was difficult to be seen, and eluded pursuit by diving into the thickest bunches of weeds, uttering, when approached, its peculiar grating wren-like notes. When quietly watched it could be seen to search for insects, climbing twigs and dry stalks sideways, jerking its long tail, or holding it erect in the manner of a wren, which, in this position, it very much resembles. He describes it as at times uttering a slow, monotonous singing note like a chick-a-dee, represented by pee-pee-pee-peep. At other times its song is a varied succession of whistling. In spring it was heard, in pairs, calling and answering, in a less solemn strain, and in a manner not unlike a sparrow, with a brief pit-pit-pit, ending with a prolonged trill. If disturbed, they at once resumed their usual scolding cries.
Mr. Bell found this species chiefly frequenting damp places, and speaks of it as of pert habit, and not easily frightened. Its white iris, when observed in its native retreats, makes it easily recognized. This feature is as conspicuous in this bird as it is in the White-eyed Vireo. Its skin is remarkably strong, the muscles of the thighs powerful and well developed, and its whole muscular system exhibits an unusual strength and firmness.
Dr. Cooper’s observations in regard to this bird are a little different in some respects. He found it common everywhere west of the Sierra Nevada on dry plains and hillsides, among the shrubby undergrowth, but not in the forests. Instead of preferring damp places, he found it living where there is no water, except occasional fogs, for six or eight months at a time. Their movements can be observed by patient watching and keeping perfectly quiet, when they seem attracted by curiosity to such a degree as to approach one within a few feet, and fearlessly hop round him as if fascinated.
Dr. Cooper found their nests near San Diego built about three feet from the ground in low shrubs. They were composed of straw and twigs mixed with feathers and firmly interwoven. The cavity, about two inches wide and an inch and three fourths deep, is lined with grass and hair. The eggs, three or four in number, are of a pale greenish-blue, and measure .70 by .52 of an inch.
FAMILY PARIDÆ.—THE TITMICE
CHAR. Bill generally short, conical, not notched nor decurved at tip. Culmen broad and rounded, not sharp-ridged at base. Nostrils rounded, basal, and concealed by dense bristles or bristly feathers. Loral feathers rough and bristly, directed forwards. Tarsi distinctly scutellate; basal joints of anterior toes abbreviated, that of middle toe united about equally for three fourths its length to the lateral: in Parinæ forming a kind of palm for grasping; outer lateral toe decidedly longer than the inner. Primaries ten, the first much shorter than the second. Tail-feathers with soft tips. Nest in holes of trees; eggs white, spotted with reddish.
With Cabanis we include the Nuthatches in the same family with the Titmice, and have prepared the above diagnosis to embrace both groups. They agree in having a conical bill, not notched nor decurved, with much rounded culmen, and nearly straight commissure, and rounded nostrils covered with dense bristles. These characters will readily distinguish them, in connection with the ten primaries, and tarsi with scutellæ on the anterior half only (as compared with Alaudidæ), from any other American Oscines.
The two subfamilies may be thus distinguished:—
Parinæ. Body compressed. Bill shorter than the head. Wings rounded, equal to or shorter than the rounded tail. Second quill as short as the tenth. Tarsus longer than the middle toe and claw, which are about equal to the hinder; soles of toes widened into a palm. Plumage rather soft and lax.
Sittinæ. Body depressed. Bill about equal to or longer than the head. Wings much pointed, much longer than the nearly even tail. Tarsus shorter than the middle toe and claw, which are about equal to the hinder. Plumage more compact.
SUBFAMILY PARINÆ
The characters of the subfamily will be found sufficiently detailed above. The genera are as follows:—
Bill with curved outlines.
Head with a long pointed crest. Wings and tail rounded.
Body full and large. Tail about equal to wings … Lophophanes.
Head with feathers full, but not crested. Wings and tail rounded.
Body full. Tail about equal to wings; rounded … Parus.
Body slender. Tail much longer than wings; much graduated … Psaltriparus.
Bill with outlines nearly straight.
Head with compact feathers. Wings pointed.
Body slender. Tail rather shorter than the wings; nearly even … Auriparus.
GENUS LOPHOFHANES, KAUP.
Lophophanes, KAUP, Entw. Gesch. Europ. Thierwelt, 1829. (Type, Parus cristatus.) Bæolophus, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1850, 1851, 91. (Type, Parus bicolor, L.)
GEN. CHAR. Crown with a conspicuous crest. Bill conical; both upper and lower outlines convex. Wings graduated; first quill very short. Tail moderately long and rounded. Nests in hollow trees; eggs white with fine red dottings.
[Line drawing: Lophophanes bicolor. 823 ♂]
Of this genus there are several North American species, all agreeing in general characters. One of these, the L. wollweberi, is given by Cabanis as typical, while he separates the L. bicolor generically under the name of Bæolophus, as having a rather different form of crest, stouter bill and feet, and longer wings. All of our species, however, vary in these characters, each one showing a different combination, so that we prefer to consider all as belonging to the same genus with P. cristatus.
The species, all of which have the under parts uniform whitish, may be arranged as follows:—
L. bicolor. Above plumbeous; forehead black; crown much like the back. Hab. Eastern Province United States.
L. atricristatus. Above plumbeous; forehead whitish; crown black. Hab. East Mexico, north to Rio Grande.
L. inornatus. Above olivaceous; forehead and crown like the back. Hab. South of Middle and Western Provinces of United States.
L. wollweberi. Sides of head banded black and white; crown ash; throat black. Hab. S. Rocky Mountains of United States; Mexico to Oaxaca.
Lophophanes bicolor, BONAP.
TUFTED TITMOUSE; BLACK-FRONTED TITMOUSE.
Parus bicolor, LINN. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. I, 1766, 340 (based on Parus cristatus, CATESBY, I, pl. lvii).—PR. MAX. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 118. Lophophanes bicolor, BON. List Birds Europe, 1842.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 384; Review, 78.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 87. Bæolophus bicolor, CAB. Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 91 (type of genus). Lophophanes missouriensis, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 384 (var. from Missouri River). Figures: WILSON, Am. Orn. I, pl. viii, fig. 5.—AUD. Orn. Biog. I, pl. ccci; IB. Birds Am. II, pl. cxxv.
SP. CHAR. Above ashy; a black frontal band. Beneath dull whitish; sides brownish-chestnut, of more or less intensity. Length, 6.25 inches; wing, 3.17.
HAB. United States, from Missouri Valley eastward.
Feathers of the crown elongated into a flattened crest, which extends back as far as the occiput. Bill conical; lower edge of upper mandible nearly straight at the base. Fourth and fifth quills equal; third a little shorter than seventh; second rather shorter than the secondaries. Tail nearly even, the outer about .20 of an inch shorter than the longest. Upper parts ash-color, with a tinge of olivaceous. Forehead dark sooty-brown. The feathers of the upper part of the head and crest obscurely streaked with lighter brown. Under parts of head and body, sides of head, including auriculars, and a narrow space above the eye, dirty yellowish-white, tinged with brown; purest on the side of head, the white very distinct in the loral region, and including the tuft of bristly feathers over the nostrils, excepting the tips of those in contact with the bill, which are blackish. The sides of the body and the under tail-coverts are tinged with yellowish-brown. The quills and tail-feathers are edged with the color of the back, without any whitish. Bill black. Feet lead-color.
Specimens from the West are larger, the colors all more strongly marked.
HABITS. The Tufted Titmouse is a common and well-known species in the Southern States, from the seaboard to the Rocky Mountains. Its northern limits are in Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Kansas. Farther north than this its occurrence appears to be only occasional and accidental. The statement of Mr. Audubon that they are found in the Northern States, even to Nova Scotia, was evidently a mistake. They do not occur in Massachusetts, nor, so far as I am aware, have they been met with in any part of New England.
They are abundant in Northern Georgia, where, according to the observations of Dr. Gerhardt, they are among the first birds to breed, having fledglings fully grown as early as the first of May. Dr. Woodhouse found them very common in the Indian Territory, but none of the other exploring parties met with it farther west, where it is replaced by its kindred species.
It is perhaps the most abundant bird in Southern Illinois, where it is resident, being excessively numerous in winter, and in that season often a positive nuisance from their impertinent vehement scolding as they appear to follow the hunter in troops through the woods. In winter it is a constant inhabitant of the door-yards and shrubbery, particularly fruit-trees in the towns, where it is associated with the Carolina Chickadee (Parus carolinensis) and other winter birds, but exceeding them all in familiarity and boldness. (Ridgway.)
Mr. Nuttall, who never met with this bird north of Pennsylvania, found it very common in the winter and spring in the Southern States, where it displayed all the habits and uttered the usual notes of the family. In the dreariest solitudes of the Southern States these birds were his constant and amusing companions. Their sprightly movements and their varied musical talents made it even more peculiarly interesting at a time when all the other tenants of the forest were silent. The notes of this bird, which, when expressed by this writer on paper, seem only quaint and eccentric articulations, were characterized by him as lively, cheering, and varied, delivered with a delicacy, energy, pathos, and variety of expression to which it was far beyond the power of description to do justice.
These notes, at times, even partook of the high-echoing and clear tones of the Oriole. The usual song of this Titmouse is presented by Mr. Nuttall by the following characteristics: “Whip-tom-killy-killy-dāy-dāy-dā-it-tshica-dēē-dee,” varied with “Kāī-tee-did-did-did,” etc., etc. Later in the season, under the milder influences of spring, these Titmice pursued the insects from branch to branch, calling restlessly and with loud and echoing voices, peto-peto-peto, with frequent quaint variations too numerous to be repeated. Their song even consisted of successions of playful, pathetic, or querulous calls, never exhibiting any trills after the manner of the Warblers, yet the compass and tones of their voice, their capricious variety, and their general effect are described as quite as pleasing as the more exquisite notes of our summer songsters.
When wounded this Titmouse resists with great spirit any attempt to take him alive, but soon becomes tame and familiar in confinement, subsisting on seeds, broken nuts, etc. Impatient of restraint, it incessantly attempts to work its way out of its cage.
The general habits of these birds correspond closely with those of the large family to which they belong. They move usually in small flocks of from five to ten through the branches of trees and bushes in quest of insects, examine the cracks and crevices of the bark, hang on the under side of small branches, move sideways around the trunks of trees, probe the openings in acorns, pine-cones, nuts, etc., for its food, and retain apparently the family group until the spring, when they separate into pairs.
One of these birds kept in confinement by Dr. Bachman of Charleston was in the habit of hiding its food in the corner of its cage, in a small crevice, and of creeping at night into a small box, where it lay doubled up like a ball till the first light of the morning, when it resumed its restless habits.
The Tufted Titmouse passes its nights and days, when the weather is inclement, in the hollows of decayed trees or the deserted holes of the woodpeckers. In such places it also builds its nests. It has been known to excavate a hole for itself even in hard sound wood. Its nest is simply a rude lining of the selected cavity, composed of various soft and warm materials. In this are deposited from six to eight eggs. But a single brood is raised in a season. The young birds, as soon as they are fledged, hunt in company with their parents, and remain associated with them until the following spring. The eggs of this bird have a length of .75 of an inch and a breadth of .56. They are of a rounded oval in shape, and are thickly sprinkled with fine rust-colored dots, intermingled with a few larger markings of lilac, on a white ground.
Lophophanes atricristatus, CASSIN.
BLACK-TUFTED TITMOUSE; TEXAS TITMOUSE.
Parus atricristatus, CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. V, 1850, 103, pl. ii (Texas). Lophophanes atricristatus, CASSIN, Ill. Birds Texas, etc. I, 1853, 13, pl. iii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 385; Review, 78.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 43.
SP. CHAR. Crest very long and pointed (1.25 inches). Above ash-colored. A broad band on the forehead dirty white, rest of head above, with crest, black, tinged with ash on the sides. Color of the back shading insensibly into the dull ashy-white of the under parts. Sides of body pale brownish-chestnut. Female with the crest duller black. Iris dark brown. Length, about 5.25 inches; wing, 3.00.
HAB. Valley of Rio Grande, south, into Mexico. San Antonio. Texas. Vera Cruz, SCLATER.
This species is not rare in Texas, where it has been noticed as far east as San Antonio.
HABITS. So far as known, the Black-crested Titmouse is restricted in its distribution to the valley of the Rio Grande, including portions of Mexico and Western Texas. It was first met with in the latter State by John W. Audubon, and described by Mr. Cassin in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy.
In its general appearance and in all its habits it is mentioned as having so close a resemblance to the common Tufted Titmouse as to be hardly distinguishable from that bird. Dr. Woodhouse met with this species near San Antonio, Texas, in March, 1851. While his party was encamped on the Rio Salado he observed these birds busily engaged in capturing insects among the trees on the banks of the stream. Like all the members of this family, it was incessantly in motion and very noisy. Later in the season, on the 8th of May, the same party, when encamped on the Quihi, again found this species very abundant among the oaks. The young males, then fully grown, closely resembled the adult females, both wanting the black crest that distinguishes the mature male. He afterward noticed this species occurring at intervals along his route as far as the head waters of the Rio San Francisco in New Mexico. He observed it almost exclusively among the trees that bordered streams of water. The females and the young males invariably had crests of the same cinereous color as their general plumage, but in the latter slightly tinged with brown. They occurred in small parties, were very lively and sociable in their habits, and in their general appearance and even in their notes so very closely resembled the Eastern species as, at a short distance, to be hardly distinguishable from it.
Dr. Heermann, in his report on the birds of Lieutenant Parke’s survey, mentions having first observed this species near Fort Clarke, in Texas, where it was very abundant. He describes it as sprightly and active in its movements, searching with great assiduity for insects in the crevices of the bark and among the branches of trees. While thus engaged it keeps up a chattering note, varied with an occasional low and plaintive whistle. Its habits appeared to him to resemble most those of the common Parus atricapillus. Dr. Heermann states that it builds its nest in the hollow of trees, and that it lays from twelve to sixteen eggs. He does not, however, say that he ever met with its eggs, nor does he give any description of them. The nest, he states, is composed of fine dry grasses, feathers, wool, mosses, etc.
General Couch’s description of this species and its habits is very similar. He observed it in the province of New Leon, in Mexico, where he found it very abundant along the San Juan into the Sierra Madre. He describes it as a very lively bird, with a very perfect whistle of a single note.
Mr. Henry A. Dresser sought very diligently for its nest and eggs near San Antonio and Houston, in Texas, where he found the bird very common, and where he was sure many pairs remained to breed, but its nest was very hard to find, and the birds very wary. He succeeded in finding one nest, in a hollow tree, near the head springs of the San Antonio River, but it contained young. The nest he does not describe, nor does he mention the number of young it contained.
Lophophanes inornatus, CASSIN.
GRAY-TUFTED TITMOUSE; CALIFORNIA TITMOUSE.
Parus inornatus, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. Aug. 1845, 265 (Upper California).—IB. J. A. N. Sc. new ser. I, 1847, 35, pl. vii. Lophophanes inornatus, CASSIN, Ill. 1853, 19.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 386; Review, 78.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 88.—ELLIOT, Illust. I, pl. iii.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 42.
SP. CHAR. Crest elongated. Color above olivaceous-ashy, beneath whitish. Sides of body and under tail-coverts very faintly tinged with brownish, scarcely appreciable. Sides of head scarcely different from the crown. Forehead obscurely whitish. Length, 5 inches; wing, 2.55.
HAB. Southern United States, from Rocky Mountains to Pacific; Western Nevada (RIDGWAY). W. Arizona (COUES).
The bill and feet of this species are lead-color. The third, fourth, and fifth quills are longest; the third and eighth about equal; the second is shorter than the shortest primaries. The lateral tail-feathers are a little shorter than the others.
A specimen from Fort Thorn has the crest longer than in other specimens before me, measuring 1.35 inches from base of bill to its tip. This may be a characteristic of the male, the sexes being otherwise alike.
HABITS. The Gray Titmouse belongs essentially to the Pacific coast, coming eastward only as far as the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas. It was first discovered and described by Dr. Gambel, in his Birds of California. It has since been met with not only throughout California, but also in all the southern portions of the Rocky Mountains, in New Mexico, and from Mimbres to the Rio Grande.
Dr. Woodhouse met with this species in the San Francisco Mountains, near the Little Colorado River, New Mexico. He found it very abundant, feeding among the tall pines in company with the Sitta pygmæa, S. aculeata, and Parus montanus.
Dr. Gambel first noticed this species near Monterey on the 20th of November. It was flitting actively about among the evergreen oaks of that vicinity in company with large flocks of several kindred species. They were all in restless activity, searching every branch for insects. As well as he could distinguish its notes among those of the busy throng in the midst of which he observed it, they appeared to resemble very closely those of the common P. atricapillus. Upon his following it up, it would utter a loud scolding outcry, erect its high and pointed crest, and appear as angry as possible at the intrusion. He found it very common, frequenting tall bushes in small flocks, searching branches of low trees, uttering weak and slender cries, resembling the syllables tsēē dāy-dāy.
Dr. Heermann found it one of the most common of the birds of California, where it is resident throughout the year. He describes their notes as possessing an almost endless variety, so much so that he was repeatedly prompted to follow it as a new species. He met with a nest of this bird in a deserted woodpecker’s hole, which contained young.
Dr. Cooper has met with this species in February near San Diego, but not on the Colorado. They seem to prefer the evergreen-oak groves toward the middle of the State, but are not found in the higher Sierra Nevada. They are residents throughout the year in the evergreen oaks near San Francisco. He adds that they are seen in small parties, scattered about the trees, and calling to each other with a variety of sweet and loud notes, some of which are said to equal those of our best singers. It also has certain powers of imitation like the Eastern crested species and the same cry of pēto-pēto.
It feeds on acorns as well as insects, and often goes to the ground in search of them. It cracks the acorns with its bill, and hammers at bark and decayed wood with the industry of a woodpecker.
Mr. Ridgway met with this species among the pines of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, but nowhere in abundance. Among the cedars it was almost the only bird seen. He describes its manners as greatly resembling those of the other species. Its notes, though differing from those of the Eastern L. bicolor, being weaker and less distinct, retain its vehement and characteristic manner of utterance.
Lophophanes wollweberi, BONAP.
WOLLWEBER’S TITMOUSE; STRIPED-HEADED TITMOUSE.
Lophophanes wollweberi, BON. C. R. XXXI, Sept. 1850, 478.— WESTERMANN, Bijdr. Dierkunde, III, 1851, 15, plate.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 386, pl. liii, fig. 1; Review, 79.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 299 (Oaxaca, high lands).—IB. Catal. 1861, 14, no. 89.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 43. Parus annexus, CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. V, Oct. 1850, 103, pl. i. Lophophanes galeatus, CABANIS, Mus. Hein. 1850, 1851, 90.
SP. CHAR. Central portion of crest ash, encircled by black, commencing as a frontal band, and passing over the eye. Chin, throat, and a line from behind the eye and curving round the auriculars to the throat (bordered behind by white), as also some occipital feathers, black. A white line from above the eye margining the crest, with the cheeks below the eye and under parts generally white. A black half-collar on the nape. Upper parts of body ashy. Length, about 4.50; wing, 2.50.
HAB. Southern Rocky Mountains of United States, and along table-lands through Mexico, to Oaxaca (high regions, SCLATER). Orizaba (Alpine regions, SUM.).
HABITS. Wollweber’s Titmouse, so far as its distribution is known, is a bird of Western Texas, the high table-lands of Mexico, and of the whole of New Mexico. It was described by Bonaparte and by Cassin nearly simultaneously, in 1850. It bears a very close resemblance to the Lophophanes cristatus of Europe.
Although comparatively nothing is known in reference to the specific habits of this species, they may be very readily inferred from those of the other members of this genus, whose characteristics are all so well marked and so uniform. Dr. Kennerly is the only one of our naturalists who has mentioned meeting the species in its living form. In his Report upon the Birds of Lieutenant Whipple’s Survey he states that he found it in the thick bushes along the Pueblo Creek. Wherever noticed it was constantly in motion, hopping from twig to twig in search of its food. He also found it among the pines of the Aztec Mountains. No mention is made of its nest or eggs, and its nidification remains to be ascertained.
GENUS PARUS, LINNÆUS.
Parus, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Type, P. major.)
GEN. CHAR. Head not crested. Body and head full. Tail moderately long, and slightly rounded. Bill conical, not very stout; the upper and under outlines very gently and slightly convex. Tarsus but little longer than middle toe. Head and neck generally black or brown, with sides white. Nest in holes. Eggs white, sprinkled with red.
In the group, as defined above, are embraced several genera of modern systematists. The true black-capped American Titmice belong to the section Pœcile of Kaup, and exhibit but three well-marked forms; one, P. montanus, with a white stripe over the eye; one, atricapillus, without it, with black head; and one, hudsonicus, also without it, and with brown head. The species may be arranged as follows:—
1. Head and neck, above and beneath, black; their sides white.
A. A broad white stripe above the eye, meeting across forehead.
1. P. montanus. Edges of wing-coverts, secondaries, and tail scarcely paler than general tint above. Beneath ashy-whitish, medially. Wing, 2.85; tail, 2.50; bill (along culmen), .50; tarsus, .69; middle toe, .43; wing-formula, 45, 36, 7, 2; graduation of tail, .18. Hab. Mountain regions of Middle and Western United States.
B. No white stripe above the eye.
a. Tail as long as, or longer than, wing. Conspicuous white edgings to wing-coverts, secondaries, and tail-feathers.
2. P. atricapillus.
Dorsal region yellowish-cinereous, wings and tail purer ash; sides light ochraceous. White edgings of tail-feathers not margining their ends. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.60; bill, .40; tarsus, .62; middle toe, .36; wing-formula, 4, 5, 6, 3, 7, 8, 29; graduation of tail, .30. (12,851 ♂: Brooklyn, N. Y.) Hab. Eastern Province of North America, north of about 39° … var. atricapillus.
Dorsal region and sides with scarcely a perceptible yellowish tinge; white edgings of tail-feathers passing around their ends. Beneath whitish. Wing, 2.75; tail, 2.80; culmen, .35; tarsus, .65; middle toe, .40; wing-formula, 5, 4 = 6, 3 = 7, 8, 2 = 9; graduation of tail, .50. (3704 ♂? Salt Lake City, Utah.) Hab. Region of Missouri River and Rocky Mountains … var. septentrionalis.
Colors as in atricapillus, but much darker. Beneath more ochraceous. Wing, 2.40; tail, 2.50; culmen, .40; tarsus, .60; middle toe, .40; wing-formula, 4th, 5th, and 6th equal, 3 = 7, 2 = 10; graduation of tail, .25. (6762 ♂? Fort Vancouver, Washington Territory.) Hab. Pacific Province of North America … var. occidentalis.
b. Tail shorter than wing; no conspicuous white edgings to wings and tail.
3. P. meridionalis.[27] Beneath ashy (nearly dark as upper surface), whitish medially. Wing, 2.60; tail, 2.20; culmen, .40; tarsus, .63; middle toe, .40; wing-formula, 4, 5, 6, 3 = 7, 2 = 10; graduation of tail, .10. (10,203, Mexico.) Hab. Eastern Mexico.
4. P. carolinensis. Beneath pale soiled ochraceous-whitish, scarcely lighter medially. Wing, 2.55; tail, 2.30; culmen, .35; tarsus, .53; middle toe, .38; wing-formula, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 8, 2 = 9; graduation of tail, .10. (706 ♂, Washington, D. C.) Hab. Eastern Province of United States, south of about 40°.
2. Head and neck, above and beneath, brown, the throat darkest; their sides white.
C. Back, scapulars, rump, and sides rusty-chestnut.
5. P. rufescens. Side of neck pure white. Wing, 2.35; tail, 2.00; tarsus, .61; middle toe, .40. Tail scarcely graduated. Hab. Pacific coast of North America.
D. Back, etc., grayish or ochraceous brown.
6. P. hudsonicus. Side of neck grayish. Back, etc., smoky-gray. Sides dark rusty-brown. Wing, 2.45; tail, 2.45; tarsus, .62; middle toe, .35; graduation of tail, .30. (17,101, Halifax, N. S.) Hab. Arctic America; south to northern boundary of the United States (except to westward).
7. P. sibiricus.[28] Side of neck white. Back, etc., rusty ochraceous-gray. Sides rusty ochraceous. Wing, 2.70; tail, 2.80; tarsus, .66; middle toe, .36; graduation of tail, .30. Hab. Europe.
Parus montanus, GAMBEL.
MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE: WHITE-BROWED CHICKADEE.
Parus montanus, GAMBEL, Pr. A. N. S. Phila. April, 1843, 259; Journ. A. N. Sc. 2d Series, I, 1847, 35, pl. viii, f. 1.—BAIRD, B. N. A. 1858, 394; Review Am. B. I, 1864, 82.—ELLIOT, Illust.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 46.
SP. CHAR. Head and neck above, with under part of head and throat, glossy black; forehead, stripe above the eye and band below it, involving the auriculars, white. These stripes embracing between them a black band through the eye and confluent with the black of the head. Above ashy; beneath similar, but paler; the upper part of breast and middle line of belly white. Length about 5 inches; wing, 2.60; tail, 2.40.
HAB. Mountain region of Middle and Western United States.
[Line drawing: Parus atricapillus. 12851]
HABITS. The Mountain Chickadee was first met with by Dr. Gambel in journeying westward from Santa Fé, in New Mexico, and from thence was found in all the ranges of the Rocky Mountains nearly to California. Its notes and habits are said to closely resemble those of the common Chickadee, but weaker and more varied. It keeps more in low bushes, where it moves from branch to branch with untiring activity, searching each minutely for small insects. It also frequently descends to the ground to pick up small seeds. While thus occupied it will occasionally stop, look round, and, uttering a slender te-de-de, and then its usual note, to-de-de-dait, will fly to another bush.
On the Rio Colorado they kept chiefly among the cotton-wood trees that grew along its banks, and its familiar notes were almost the only sounds heard. They were observed in large and busy flocks along the smaller streams in company with the Least Tit and the Reguli. Dr. Gambel did not find them, however, so abundant on the California sides of the ridge, where other species took their place.
Dr. Heermann found this Titmouse abundant among the mountains surrounding the Volcano in the southern mines, and subsequently met with them on the summit of the Tejon Pass. He thinks their notes and habits very similar to those of the atricapillus. Dr. Suckley obtained a single specimen at Fort Dalles, but regarded it as extremely rare in that locality. Dr. Woodhouse found it quite abundant in the San Francisco Mountains of New Mexico, where it was feeding among the tall pines in company with kindred species.
Mr. Ridgway found this species in great abundance among the pines on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as in all the extensive cedar-groves on the mountains to the eastward. Around Carson City this species was found throughout the winter. In its manners and notes, particularly the latter, it was hardly distinguishable from P. carolinensis. The notes are described as louder and more distinct, though their calls in spring are rather less clearly articulated.
Parus atricapillus, LINN.
EASTERN CHICKADEE; BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE.
Parus atricapillus, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 341 (based on _Parus atricapillus canadensis_, BRISSON, III, 553, tab. xxix, fig. 1).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 390; Review, 80.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 13, no. 80.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska).—SAMUELS, 182. Pœcile atricapilla, BON. Consp. 1850, 230. Parus palustris, NUTT. Man. I, 1832, 79. Figured by AUDUBON, WILSON, etc.
SP. CHAR. Second quill as long as the secondaries. Tail very slightly rounded; lateral feathers about .10 shorter than middle. Back brownish-ashy. Top of head and throat black, sides of head between them white. Beneath whitish; brownish-white on the sides. Sides of outer tail-feathers, some of primaries, and secondaries conspicuously margined with white. Length, 5.00; wing, 2.50; tail, 2.50.
HAB. Eastern North America, north of 39th parallel.
In this species the first quill is spurious; the fourth quill is longest; the fifth and sixth successively a little shorter; the third is about equal to, or a little shorter than, the eighth; the second is a very little longer than the secondaries. The tail is a little rounded, the innermost feather longest, the rest successively a little shorter. The greatest difference in length of tail-feathers amounts to .30 of an inch.
The entire crown, from the bill to the upper part of the back, coming down on the sides to the lower level of the eye, is pure black, although the edge alone of the lower eyelid is of this color. A second black patch begins at the lower mandible and occupies the entire under surface of the head and throat, but not extending as far back within a quarter of an inch as that on the upper part of the neck. The space between these two patches, on the sides of the head and neck, is white, this color extending along the black of the back of the neck as far as its truncated extremity, but not bordering it behind. The middle of the breast and belly, as far as the vent, is dull white, that immediately behind the black of the throat a little clearer. The sides of the breast and body under the wings, with the under tail-coverts, are pale, dull brownish-white. The back, rump, and upper tail-coverts are of a dirty bluish-ash, washed with yellowish-brown, especially on the rump. The wings are brown; the outer edges of the third to the seventh primaries narrowly edged with whitish; the innermost secondaries more broadly and conspicuously edged with the same; larger coverts edged with dirty whitish. Outer webs of tail-feathers edged with white, purest and occupying half the web in the external one, narrowing and less clear to the central feathers, the basal portions, especially, assuming more the color of the back.
HABITS. The common Chickadee or Black-capped Titmouse is so well known throughout the greater portion of the United States as to be generally accepted, by common consent, as the typical representative of its numerous family. Until recently it has been supposed to be universally distributed over the continent, and while this is now questioned, it is not quite clear where its limits occur. In Eastern Maine the Parus hudsonicus and this species meet. In the District of Columbia it crosses the northern limits of P. carolinensis, and in the northern Mississippi Valley it mingles with the var. septentrionalis. It remains to be ascertained how far the species exceeds these bounds.
A few individuals of this species were observed by Mr. Dall, December 12, at Nulato, where, however, it was not common. They were also obtained by Bischoff at Sitka and Kodiak.
As in very many essential respects the whole family of Paridæ are alike in their characteristics of habits, their manner of collecting food, their restless, uneasy movements, the similarity of their cries, their residence in hollow trees or branches, and their nesting in similar places, with the exception only of a few species that construct their own pouch-like nests, we have taken the best known as the common point of comparison. Except in the variations in plumage, the points of difference are never great or very noticeable.
In New England the Black-Cap is one of our most common and familiar birds. In the vicinity of Calais, Mr. Boardman speaks of it as resident and abundant. The writer did not meet with it in Nova Scotia, nor even in the islands of the Bay of Fundy, where the hudsonicus is a common bird.
It is a resident species, nesting early in May, and having full-fledged nestlings early in June. While it seems to prefer the edges of woods as best affording the means of food and shelter, it by no means confines itself to these localities, not only appearing familiarly around the dwellings in the winter season, but also occasionally breeding in open and exposed places. A hollow post of a fence in the midst of open cultivated fields, a decayed stump near the side of a public highway, a hollow log in a frequented farmyard, and even the side of an inhabited dwelling, are localities these birds have been known to select in which to rear their young. In the winter they not unfrequently extend their visits, in search of food, into the very heart of large and crowded cities, where they seem as much at home and as free from alarm as in the seclusion of the forest, searching every crack where insect larvæ or eggs can be hid. On one occasion a pair had built its nest over a covered well which connects with the dwelling by a side door, through which water was drawn at all hours of the day by means of buckets and a rope, the wheel for which was in close proximity to their nest. They manifested, however, no uneasiness, and even after the young were ready to fly, the whole family would return to the place for shelter at night and during inclement weather.
Their courage and devotion to their young is a remarkable trait with the whole race, and with none more than with the present species. On one occasion a Black-Cap was seen to fly into a rotten stump near the roadside in Brookline. The stump was so much decayed that its top was readily broken off and the nest exposed. The mother refused to leave until forcibly taken off by the hand, and twice returned to the nest when thus removed, and it was only by holding her in the hand that an opportunity was given to ascertain there were seven young birds in her nest. She made no complaints, uttered no outcries, but resolutely and devotedly thrust herself between her nestlings and the seeming danger. When released she immediately flew back to them, covered them under her sheltering wings, and looked up in the face of her tormentors with a quiet and resolute courage that could not be surpassed.
The nest of the Chickadee is usually a warm and soft felted mass of the hair and fur of the smaller quadrupeds, downy feathers, fine dry grasses and mosses, lining the cavity in which it is placed and contracting it into a deep and purse-like opening if the cavity be larger than is necessary. Usually the site selected is already in existence, and only enlarged or altered to suit the wishes of the pair. But not unfrequently, at some pains, they will excavate an opening for themselves, not only in decaying wood, but even into limbs or trunks that are entirely sound.
These birds in winter collect around the camps of the log-cutters, become very tame, and seek on all occasions to share with their occupants their food, often soliciting their portion with plaintive tones. Though nearly omnivorous in the matter of food, they prefer insects to everything else, and the amount of good conferred by them on the farmers and the owners of woodlands in the destruction of insects in all their forms—egg, caterpillar, larva, or imago—must be very great. No chrysalis is too large to resist their penetrating bill, and no eggs so well hidden that they cannot find them out. I have known one to attack and fly off with the chrysalis of a “Woolly-bear” or salt-marsh caterpillar (Leucarctia acræa). When thus foraging for their food they seem totally unconscious of the near presence of man, and unmindful of what is passing around them, so intent are they upon the object of their pursuit.
The notes of the Chickadee exhibit a great variety of sounds and combinations. As they roam through the country in small flocks in quest of food, their refrain is a continued and lively succession of varying notes sounding like a quaint chant. When annoyed by any intrusion, their cry is louder and harsher. They are rarely thus disturbed by the presence of man, and even when their nest is approached by him they present only a passive and silent resistance. Not so when a cat or a squirrel is observed in unwelcome vicinity. These are pursued with great and noisy pertinacity and hoarse cries of dāy, dāy, dāy, in which they are often joined by others of the same species.
So far as we have observed them, they are apparently affectionate, gentle, and loving to each other. We utterly discredit the accusation that they will treacherously beat out the brains of feeble birds of their own race. It is unsupported by testimony, and in the instance cited by Wilson he gives no evidence that this injury may not have been done by some other species, and not by one of its own kindred.
Their nest is usually near the ground, and the number of eggs rarely if ever exceeds eight. They are said to have two broods in the season, but this statement seems to be contradicted by their continued presence after June in small flocks, evidently the parents and their first and only brood, who apparently remain together nine or ten months.
The eggs of this species vary somewhat in regard to the distribution and number of the reddish-brown markings with which their white ground is more or less sprinkled. In some they are chiefly gathered in a ring about the larger end; in others they are distributed over the entire egg. Their eggs are smaller and a little less spherical in shape than those of the septentrionalis, averaging .58 by .47 of an inch.
Parus atricapillus, var. septentrionalis, HARRIS.
LONG-TAILED CHICKADEE.
Parus septentrionalis, HARRIS, Pr. A. N. Sc. II, 1845, 300.—CASSIN, Illust. I, 1853, 17, 80, pl. xiv.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 389; Review, 79.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 82. _Parus septentrionalis_, var. albescens, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, xxxvii. ? Parus atricapillus, PR. MAX. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 119.
SP. CHAR. Length about 5.50 inches; wing, 2.70; tail about 3 inches. Head above and below black, separated by white on the sides of the head; back brownish-ash. Beneath white, tinged with pale brownish-white on the sides. Outer tail-feathers, primaries, and secondaries broadly edged with white, involving nearly the whole outer web of outer tail-feather. Tail much graduated; the outer feather about .50 of an inch shorter than the middle. Second quill about as long as the secondaries.
HAB. Region of Missouri River to Rocky Mountains.
This race is very similar to the P. atricapillus, but differs from it somewhat as atricapillus does from carolinensis. Its size is much greater; the tail proportionally longer, and much more graduated; the white of wing and tail purer and more extended. The bill appears to be stouter and more conical. The back has, perhaps, a little more yellowish. The spurious or first primary is larger.
It will be a difficult matter to retain this as a species distinct from atricapillus, in view of the insensible gradation from one form to the other; and it may be looked upon, with scarcely a doubt, as simply a long-tailed Western variety of the common species. P. occidentalis, and, probably, even P. carolinensis, may even fall under the same category, their peculiarities of color and size being precisely such as would a priori be expected from their geographical distribution.
HABITS. The Long-tailed Titmouse appears to have an extended distribution between the Mississippi Valley and the Rocky Mountains, from Texas into the British Possessions, specimens having been received from Fort Simpson and Lake Winnipeg. Among the notes of the late Robert Kennicott is one dated Lake Winnipeg, June 6, mentioning the dissection of a female of this species found to contain a full-sized egg. A memorandum made by Mr. Ross, dated at Fort William, May 15, speaks of this bird as abundant at Fort Simpson, from August until November, the last having been seen November 10. One was shot, June 2, on Winnipeg River, “a female, who was about to lay her egg.”
In regard to its distinct individual history but little is as yet known. It was discovered and first described by the late Edward Harris, of New Jersey, who accompanied Mr. Audubon in his expedition to the upper branches of the Missouri River, and who obtained this bird on the Yellowstone, about thirty miles above its junction with the Missouri, on the 26th of July. He describes its notes as similar to those of the common atricapillus, but less harsh and querulous, and more liquid in their utterance. Subsequently specimens were obtained by Mr. Kern, artist to the exploring expedition under Fremont in 1846.
It is the largest species of this genus in America. In its breeding-habits it is not different from the Eastern representatives. Mr. B. F. Goss found this species breeding abundantly at Neosho Falls, in Kansas. They nest in decayed stumps, hollow trees, branches, logs, etc., after the manner of the atricapillus. The excavation is usually ten or twelve inches, and even more, in depth. The nest is warmly made of a loose soft felt composed of the fur and fine hair of small quadrupeds, feathers, and the finer mosses.
The eggs, usually five, occasionally eight, in number, are of a rounded oval shape, measuring .60 by .50 of an inch. They have a pure dull-white ground, and the entire egg is very uniformly and pretty thickly covered with fine markings and small blotches of red and reddish-brown intermingled with a few dots of purplish.
Parus atricapillus, var. occidentalis, BAIRD.
WESTERN CHICKADEE.
Parus occidentalis, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 391 (W. Territory); Review, 81.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 82.—ELLIOT, Illust. 1, pl. viii.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 45.
SP. CHAR. Tarsi lengthened. Tail graduated; outer feather about .25 of an inch shorter than the middle. Above dark brownish-ash; head and neck above and below black, separated on the sides by white; beneath light, dirty, rusty yellowish-brown, scarcely whiter along the middle of body. Tail and wings not quite so much edged with whitish as in P. atricapillus. Length about 4.75; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.40.
HAB. Northwest coast region of the United States.
This race is of the same size as P. atricapillus, and resembles it in its markings; the ashy of the back is, however, washed with a darker shade of yellowish-brown. The brown of the under parts is so much darker as to cause the predominant color there to be a pale yellowish-brown, instead of brownish-white. The fourth quill is longest; the fifth and sixth a little shorter than the third; the second is about as long as the secondaries. The tail is rounded, rather more so than in most atricapillus, the difference in the lengths of the feathers amounting to about .25 of an inch. The amount of light margining to the quills and tail-feathers is much as in atricapillus, but rather less, perhaps, on the tail.
This seems to be the Pacific coast representative of the P. atricapillus, as septentrionalis belongs to the middle region, corresponding in its differences with other Western representatives of Eastern species.
HABITS. Dr. Cooper, in his Birds of Washington Territory, says of this variety: “The common Black-capped Chickadee, so abundant in the Eastern States, is, in Washington Territory, represented by the Western Titmouse, frequenting the low thickets and trees, where it is always busily employed seeking food.” He observed its nest near Puget Sound, burrowed in soft rotten wood. Dr. Suckley found it quite abundant in the valley of the Willamette, and also at Fort Vancouver during winter. In habits it closely resembles the Black-Cap of the Eastern States.
It is chiefly found in Oregon and Washington Territory, visiting the northern part of California in winter, when it is also abundant near the Columbia River. At this season it is generally found among the deciduous trees along streams and oak groves, seeking its food among the branches. It feeds on seeds and insects, and is very fond of fresh meat, fat, and crumbs of bread. They migrate but little, remaining at the Columbia River even when the ground is covered with snow. The eggs are as yet unknown, but without doubt they closely resemble those of the Eastern species.
Parus carolinensis, AUDUBON.
SOUTHERN CHICKADEE.
Parus carolinensis, AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 474, pl. clx.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 152, pl. cxxvii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 392; Review, 81.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 13, no. 81. Pœcile carolinensis, BON. Consp. 1850, 230.
SP. CHAR. Second quill appreciably longer than secondaries. Tail very little rounded. Length about 4.50 inches; wing less than 2.50; tail, 2.40. Back brownish-ash. Head above, and throat, black, separated on sides of head by white. Beneath white; brownish-white on sides. Outer tail-feathers, primaries, and secondaries, not edged with white.
HAB. South Atlantic and gulf region of United States, north to Washington, D. C., Texas and the Mississippi Valley; north to Central Illinois; the only species in the southern portion of the latter State.
This species is, in general, rather smaller than P. atricapillus, although the tail and wing appear to be of much the same size. The body and feet are, however, smaller, and the extent of wing is three quarters of an inch less. The bill is apparently shorter and stouter.
The primaries are proportionally and absolutely considerably longer than the secondaries in the present species, the difference being .55 of an inch, instead of .45. The tail is rather more rounded, the feathers narrower.
The tail is considerably shorter than the wing, instead of longer; the black of the throat extends much farther back, is more dense and more sharply defined behind, than in atricapillus. Taking into view these differences, and others of color, we feel justified in retaining this as a species distinct from atricapillus, and, in fact, having meridionalis as its nearest relative (see Synoptical Table). Both this species and atricapillus are found together in the Middle States, each preserving its characteristics.
HABITS. South of the once famous line of Mason and Dixon this smaller counterpart of the Chickadee seems to entirely replace it, although in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and occasionally even as far to the north as New York City, the two occur together. Its range is presumed to be all the States south of the Potomac and the Ohio, as far to the west as the Rio Grande. It was probably this species, and not the atricapillus, which was met with by Dr. Woodhouse in the Indian Territory. Without much doubt it breeds in all the States south of Pennsylvania.
In Southern Illinois, as far north in the Wabash Valley as the mouth of White River, this is the only species, unless the P. atricapillus occasionally occurs in winter. Specimens from this region are undistinguishable from those taken in Georgia and the extreme Southern States, and do not present the peculiar features of P. atricapillus. It is a very abundant species, and resident, being in winter one of the most common, as well as one of the most familiar birds, inhabiting all localities, giving preference neither to swampy woods nor to door-yards, for it is as often seen in one place as another. It is never gregarious, though many may often be seen or heard at the same moment. It begins incubation early in April, generally selecting the wild plum and red-bud trees in the woods. This species very often constructs its own nesting-places, and the soft wood of these trees is very easily excavated. The excavation is generally made in a horizontal dead limb, with the opening on the under side; this is neat and regular, and as elaborate as those of any of the woodpeckers. Sometimes, however, a natural cavity is selected, frequently in a prostrate stump or “snag.” The nest is almost always a very elaborate structure, being a strong compact cup or bed of “felt,” whose main material is rabbit-fur and cow-hair.
In its habits it seems to resemble more closely the P. palustris of Europe than the atricapillus, being generally found only in the immediate vicinity of ponds and deep, marshy, moist woods. It is also rarely found other than singly or in pairs, the parent birds, unlike most of this family, separating from their young soon after the latter are able to provide for themselves. It rarely or never moves in flocks.
Their notes are said to be less sonorous and less frequent than those of our Black-capped Titmouse. In the winter a portion retire from the coast in South Carolina into the interior of the State and into Florida, where Mr. Audubon found them, in the winter of 1831 and 1832, much more abundant than he had ever seen them elsewhere. He found them breeding as early as February, occasionally in the nests deserted by the Brown-headed Nuthatch. A nest obtained by Dr. Bachman from a hollow stump, about four feet from the ground, was in form cup-shaped, measuring two inches internally in diameter at the mouth, and three externally, with a depth of two inches. It was constructed of cotton, fine wool, a few fibres of plants, and so elaborately felted together as to be of uniform thickness throughout.
Mr. Audubon was in error in regard to the eggs, which he describes as pure white. Their ground-color is of pure crystalline whiteness, but they are freely and boldly marked all over with deep reddish-brown and red spots. These, so far as we have compared the eggs, are larger, more numerous, and more deeply marked than are any eggs of the atricapillus we have ever met with.
According to the observations of the late Dr. Alexander Gerhardt of Whitfield County, Georgia, these birds usually breed in holes that have been previously dug out by the Picus pubescens, or in decaying stumps not more than five or six feet from the ground. He never met with its nest in living trees. The eggs are from five to seven in number, and are usually deposited in Georgia from the 10th to the last of April.
The eggs of this species are slightly larger than those of the atricapillus, and the reddish-brown blotches with which they are profusely covered are much more distinctly marked. They are of a spheroidal oval in shape, have a pure white ground, very uniformly and generally sprinkled with blotches of a reddish-brown. They measure .60 by .50 of an inch.
Parus rufescens, TOWNS.
CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE.
Parus rufescens, TOWNSEND, J. A. N. Sc. Phil. VII, II, 1837, 190.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 371, pl. cccliii.—IB. Birds Am. 1841, 158, pl. cxxix.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 394; Review, 83.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep. XII, II, 1859, 194 (nesting).—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 86.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska).—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 47. Pœcile rufescens, BONAP. Consp. 1850, 230.
SP. CHAR. Whole head and neck above, and throat from bill to upper part of breast, sooty blackish-brown. Sides of head and neck, upper part of breast, and middle of body, white; back and sides dark brownish-chestnut. Length, 4.75 inches; wing, 2.36; tail, 2.16.
HAB. Western United States, near Pacific coast.
HABITS. The Chestnut-backed Titmouse was first obtained by Townsend on the banks of the Columbia River, and described in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy. It is a resident, throughout the year, of the forests of the Columbia, and is found throughout California. Like all of this familiar family, they may be seen in small flocks, of all ages, in the autumn and winter, moving briskly about, uttering a number of feeble querulous notes, after the manner of the atricapillus, but never joining in anything like the quaint and jingling song of that bird. They occasionally have a confused warbling chatter. These busy little groups may be often seen in company with the Parus occidentalis and the Regulus satrapa, moving through the bushes and thickets, carefully collecting insects, their larvæ and eggs, for a few moments, and then flying off for some other place. They are supposed to rear their young in the midst of the densest forests.
Mr. Nuttall states that when the gun thins their ranks the survivors display surprising courage and solicitude, following their destroyer with wailing cries, entreating for their companions.
Dr. Gambel found the young of this species in great abundance around Monterey in the fall and winter months. Dr. Heermann saw them in June, 1852, feeding their young in the vicinity of San Francisco, where, however, they are rare.
In Washington Territory, Dr. Cooper found this the most abundant species. It preferred the dense evergreens, where large parties could be found at all seasons busily seeking food among the leaves and branches, ascending even to the highest tops. They were usually in company with the Reguli and the other Titmice. Mr. Bischoff found them abundant at Sitka.
They nest, like all the others of this genus, in holes in soft decayed trunks and large limbs of trees a few feet from the ground. Their eggs are not as yet known.
Parus hudsonicus, FORST.
HUDSON’S BAY CHICKADEE; BROWN-CAPPED CHICKADEE.
Parus hudsonicus, FORSTER, Philos. Trans. LXII, 1772, 383, 430.— AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, 543, pl. cxciv.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 155, pl. cxxviii.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 395; Review, 82.—SAMUELS, 185.—DALL & BANNISTER (Alaska). Parus hudsonicus var. littoralis, BRYANT, Pr. Bost. Soc. N. H. IX. 1863, 368.
SP. CHAR. Above yellowish olivaceous-brown; top of head purer brown, not very different in tint. Chin and throat dark sooty-brown. Sides of head white. Beneath white; sides and anal region light brownish-chestnut. No whitish on wings or tail. Tail nearly even, or slightly emarginate and rounded. Lateral feathers about .20 shortest. Length about 5 inches; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.66.
HAB. Northern portions of North America, from Atlantic to Pacific.
Specimens from the most northern localities appear larger than those from Maine and Nova Scotia (P. littoralis, BRYANT), with proportionally longer tails (3.00 inches, instead of 2.40). We can, however, detect no other difference.
The Parus sibiricus of Europe is very similar in coloration and characters to the P. hudsonicus. The principal difference is seen in the cheeks, which in sibiricus are pure white, this color extending along the entire side of the neck, widening behind, and extending round towards the back. In hudsonicus the cheeks behind the eyes and sides of the neck are ash-gray, the white being confined to the region below or near the eye. The smoky-gray of the upper part of head and neck in sibiricus is in a stronger contrast with the brighter rufescent-gray of the back, and is separated from it by an obscure, concealed, whitish dorsal half-collar, represented in hudsonicus only by a dull grayish shade in the plumage.
HABITS. This interesting species, one of the liveliest and most animated of its family, belongs to the northern and eastern sections of North America. It is found in the eastern and northern portions of Maine, and probably also in the northern parts of New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In the heavily wooded mountain-valley of Errol, in the latter State, Mr. Maynard met with this bird in the latter part of October, in company with the common atricapillus. In the same month he also obtained two birds in Albany, in the northwestern corner of Maine. A single specimen was taken at Concord, Massachusetts, October 29, by Mr. William Brewster.
Near Calais it is resident, but not common. It is more abundant in the islands of the Bay of Fundy, where it takes the place, almost exclusively, of the atricapillus. The writer first met with these lively little wood-sprites in 1850, in the thick swampy woods which cover one of the small islands near Grand Menan. Their general appearance as they flitted through the woods, or rustled restlessly among the tangled débris of decaying trees and underbrush with which the forest was choked, was not unlike that of our common Black-Cap. Yet there was an indescribable something both in their cries and in their manners that at once suggested a difference of species. To my ear their cries were sharper, clearer, and a trifle harsher. There was none of that resonant jingle so full of charm in the Chickadee. Their notes, too, were more articulate, more like distinct words, and were brought out at certain times with an emphasis the effect of which was very striking. Beginning with tschā-dēē, the dēē-dēē-dēē was reiterated with an almost incessant volubility.
It seemed to be a more retiring bird, never frequenting the houses, but keeping closely to thick and retired woods. Yet it is not a timid species, but seemed entirely unmindful of our presence, or, when mindful of it, to resent it as an impropriety, rather than to fear it as a danger. They apparently had nests or young at the time of my visit, though I could not detect their locality. One pair became at last so annoyed at my prolonged presence as to manifest their uneasiness by keeping within a few feet of my head, following me wherever I went, and without ceasing from their close surveillance until I finally left their grove and emerged into the open country. All the time they brought out the cry of dēē-dēē with a clear, ringing emphasis that was almost startling.
A few days later, being at Halifax, Mr. Andrew Downes, the naturalist, took me to the nest of these birds in a small grove in the vicinity of that city. The nest was in a small beech-tree, and had been cut through the living wood. The excavation, which was not more than two feet from the ground, was about ten inches in depth, was in a horizontal position only about two inches, where it turned abruptly downward, and from a width of an inch and a half assumed a width of three, and a depth of seven or eight inches. This was warmly lined with feathers and soft fur. The nest contained young birds. These particulars we only ascertained when we had laid bare the excavation by a sharp hatchet. Though disappointed in our search for eggs, yet we witnessed a very touching manifestation of devotion on the part of the parents, and of neighborly solicitude in various other inmates of the grove, which was at once most interesting and a scene long to be remembered.
With all the self-sacrificing devotion of the Black-Cap, these birds displayed a boldness and an aggressive intrepidity that at once commanded our respect and admiration. I never witnessed anything quite equal to it. They flew at our faces, assailed our arms as we wielded the invading hatchet, and it was difficult not to do them even unintentional injury without abandoning our purpose. Before we could examine the nest they had entered, and had to be again and again removed. As soon as we were satisfied that the nest of this heroic pair did not contain what we sought, we left them, and turned to look with equal admiration upon the indignant assembly of feathered remonstrants by which we were surrounded. The neighboring trees swarmed with a variety of birds, several of which we had never before seen in their summer homes. There were the Red-Poll Warbler, the Black and Yellow Warbler, and many others, all earnestly and eloquently crying out shame upon our proceedings.
Dr. Bryant, in his Notes on the Birds of Yarmouth, N. S., etc., mentions finding quite a number of this species on Big Mud Island, near that place. A pair of these birds with their young were seen by him near Yarmouth on the 3d of July. Their habits seemed to him identical with those of the Black-Cap. The young were fully grown and could fly with ease, yet their parents were so solicitous about their safety that he could almost catch them with his hand. Their notes appeared to him similar to those of our common species, but sharper and more filing, and can be readily imitated by repeating, with one’s front teeth shut together, the syllables tzēē-dēē-dēē-dēē.
Mr. Audubon found a nest of this Titmouse in Labrador. It was built in a decayed stump about three feet from the ground, was purse-shaped, eight inches in depth, two in diameter, and its sides an inch thick. It was entirely composed of the finest fur of various quadrupeds, chiefly of the northern hare, and all so thickly and ingeniously matted throughout as to seem as if felted by the hand of man. It was wider at the bottom than at the top. The birds vehemently assailed the party.
Mr. Ross, in notes communicated to the late Mr. Kennicott, mentions that specimens of this species were shot at Fort Simpson, October 13, in company with P. septentrionalis, and others were afterwards seen towards the mountains. The notes he describes as harsher than those of the septentrionalis. The Smithsonian museum contains specimens from Fort Yukon and Great Slave Lake, besides the localities already referred to. Mr. Dall found it the commonest Titmouse at Nulato, abundant in the winter, but not present in the spring.
The eggs of this species measure .56 by .47 of an inch, are of a rounded oval shape, and with a white ground are somewhat sparingly marked with a few reddish-brown spots. These are usually grouped in a ring around the larger end.
GENUS PSALTRIPARUS, BONAP.
Psaltriparus, BONAP. Comptes Rendus, XXXI, 1850, 478. (Type, _P. melanotis_.) Ægithaliscus, CABANIS, Museum Heineanum, 1851, 90. (Type, _Parus erythrocephalus_.) Psaltria, CASSIN, Ill. N. Am. Birds, 1853, 19.
GEN. CHAR. Size very small and slender. Bill very small, short, compressed, and with its upper outline much curved for the terminal half. Upper mandible much deeper than under. Tail long, slender, much graduated; much longer than the wings; the feathers very narrow. Tarsi considerably longer than the middle toe. No black on the crown or throat. Eyes white in some specimens, brown in others. Nest purse-shaped; eggs unspotted, white.
No bird of this genus belongs to the eastern portion of the United States. The three species may be defined as follows:—
A. Head striped with black on the sides.
P. melanotis. The stripes passing under the eye and uniting on the occiput. Hab. Eastern Mexico
B. No stripes on the head.
P. minimus. Back ashy; crown light brown. Hab. Pacific Province of United States … var. minimus.
Back and crown uniform ashy. Hab. Middle Province and southern Rocky Mountains of United States … var. plumbeus.
Psaltriparus melanotis, BONAP.
BLACK-EARED BUSH-TITMOUSE.
Parus melanotis, HARTLAUB, Rev. Zoöl. 1844, 216. Pœcile melanotis, BP. Consp. 1850, 230. Ægithaliscus melanotis, CAB. Mus. Hein. I, 1850, 1851, 90. Psaltria melanotis, WESTERMANN, Bijd. Dierk. 1851, 16, plate. Psaltriparus melanotis, BONAP. C. R. XXXVIII, 1854.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1858, 299.—IB. 1864, 172 (City Mex.).—SALVIN, Ibis, 1866, 190 (Guatemala).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 386, pl. liii, fig. 3; Review, 84. Psaltriparus personatus, BONAP. C. R. XXXI, Sept. 1850, 478.
SP. CHAR. A black patch on each cheek, nearly meeting behind. Crown and edges of the wing and tail ash-gray; rest of upper parts yellowish-brown, lighter on the rump. Beneath whitish; anal region tinged with yellowish-brown. Length about 4 inches; wing, 1.90; tail, 2.30.
HAB. Eastern Mexico; south to Guatemala; Oaxaca (high region), SCLATER. East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada? RIDGWAY.
[Line drawing: Psaltriparus minimus. 29711 ♂]
HABITS. In regard to the specific peculiarities and the distinct individual habits of the members of this pretty little species, little is at present known. Its mode of nesting has not been observed, and no mention is made, by those who have met with it, of its peculiarities of song, nor have we any information in regard to any of its habits. Its geographical distribution, so far as ascertained, is from the south side of the valley of the Rio Grande of Mexico to Guatemala, and there is no reliable evidence of its crossing the United States boundary line, unless Mr. Ridgway is correct in his assurance that he saw it in the East Humboldt Mountains of Nevada, near Fort Ruby. It was first described from Guatemalan specimens. Mr. O. Salvin (Ibis, 1866, p. 190) states that on more than one occasion he observed what he believed to be this species, in the pine-woods of the mountains near Solola, and above the lake of Atitlan.
Psaltriparus minimus, var. minimus, BONAP.
LEAST BUSH-TITMOUSE.
Parus minimus, TOWNSEND, J. A. N. Sc. VII, ii, 1837, 190.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 382, pl. ccclxxxii, figs. 5, 6.—IB. Birds Am. II, 1841, 160, pl. cxxx. Pœcile minima, BON. Consp. 1850, 230. Psaltria minima, CASSIN, Illust. 1853, 20. Psaltriparus minimus, BON. C. R. XXXVIII, 1854, 62.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 397; Review, 84.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep. XII, ii, 1859, 195.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 48.
SP. CHAR. Tail long, feathers graduated. Above rather dark olivaceous-cinereous; top and sides of head smoky-brown. Beneath pale whitish-brown, darker on the sides. Length about 4 inches; wing, 1.90; tail, 2.25.
HAB. Pacific coast of United States.
There is quite an appreciable difference between specimens of this species from Washington Territory and California; the latter are smaller, the under parts paler. In the series before us, however, we see no grounds for specific distinction.
HABITS. This interesting little species was first added to our fauna by the indefatigable Mr. Townsend in 1837. It is abundant throughout the Pacific coast from Fort Steilacoom to Fort Tejon. Dr. Gambel found it exceedingly abundant both in the Rocky Mountains and throughout California. During the winter the otherwise cheerless woods were alive with the busy and noisy troops of these restless and industrious birds, gleaning their scanty fare in company with the Reguli, in every possible position and manner, from bush and tree. He describes their anxious solicitous search for food as quite curious. They kept up a continual twittering, and so intent were they in their employment that they appeared to lose sight of all danger, and it was by no means unusual to be so surrounded by a flock as almost to render it possible to catch them in the hand.
Dr. Cooper found this species abundant in Washington Territory, but never met with it north of the Columbia River. Dr. Suckley says it is quite common at Fort Steilacoom. He could not, however, detect any difference in its habits from those of other species of this family. He saw none in Washington Territory during the winter, and presumes they all migrate to the South, though the rufescens and the occidentalis are found there throughout the winter. Townsend, however, speaks of it as a constant resident about the Columbia River, hopping around among the bushes, hanging from the twigs in the manner of other Titmice, twittering all the while with a rapid enunciation resembling the words thshish tshist-tsee-twee.
Mr. Nuttall first observed their arrival on the banks of the Wahlamet River about the middle of May. They were very industriously engaged in quest of insects, and were by no means shy, but kept always in the low bushes in the skirts of the woods. On one occasion the male bird was so solicitous in regard to the safety of the nest as to attract him to the place where, suspended from a low bush, about four feet from the ground, hung their curious home. It was formed like a long purse, with a round hole for entrance near the top, and made of moss, down, lint of plants, and lined with feathers. The eggs were six in number, pure white, and already far gone toward hatching. In the following June, in a dark wood near Fort Vancouver, he saw a flock of about twelve, which, by imitating their chirping, he was able to call around him, and which kept up an incessant and querulous chirping.
A nest of this bird presented by Mr. Nuttall to Audubon was cylindrical in form, nine inches in length and three and a half in diameter. It was suspended from the fork of a small twig, and was composed externally of hypnum, lichens, and fibrous roots so interwoven as to present a smooth surface, with a few stems of grasses and feathers intermingled. The aperture was at the top, and did not exceed seven eighths of an inch in diameter. The diameter of the internal passage for two thirds of its length was two inches. This was lined with the cottony down of willows and a vast quantity of soft feathers. The eggs were nine in number, pure white, .56 of an inch by .44 in their measurement.
Dr. Cooper found them throughout the year near San Francisco. He found one of their nests at San Diego as early as the first of March. The nest is so large, compared with the size of the birds, as to suggest the idea that the flock unite to build it. He gives the measurements as eight inches in length and three in diameter, outside; the cavity five inches long, one and a half in diameter. It was cylindrical, and suspended by one end from a low branch.
When one of these birds is killed, Dr. Cooper says that the others come round it with great show of anxiety, and call plaintively until they find it will not follow them, becoming so fearless as almost to allow of their being taken by the hand.
Psaltriparus minimus, var. plumbeus, BAIRD.
LEAD-COLORED BUSH-TITMOUSE.
Psaltria plumbea, BAIRD, Pr. A. N. S. VII, June, 1854, 118 (Little Colorado). Psaltriparus plumbeus, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 398, pl. xxxiii, fig. 2; Review, 84.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 398, no. 77.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 49.
SP. CHAR. Tail long, feathers graduated. Above rather light olivaceous-cinereous. Top of head rather clearer; forehead, chin, and sides of head, pale smoky-brown. Beneath brownish-white, scarcely darker on the sides. Length about 4.20 inches; wing, 2.15; tail, 2.50.
HAB. Southern Rocky Mountain region of United States, from mountains of West Arizona to Green River, Wyoming; west to Carson City, Nevada (RIDGWAY).
This variety is very similar to the Psaltriparus minimus of the west coast, which it represents in the Rocky Mountain region. It is, however, appreciably larger, the wings and tail proportionally longer. The top of the head is plumbeous, uniform with the back, instead of smoky-brown. The back is a paler ash, the under parts darker.
HABITS. Of the history of this variety but little is known. It is found in the southern portion of the Rocky Mountain regions, within the United States, in Arizona and New Mexico. The extent of its area of distribution remains to be ascertained. Dr. Kennerly met with it on Little Colorado River, where he observed it among the scattered bushes along the banks of the river, occurring in large flocks. These passed rapidly from place to place, uttering their short, quick notes. He afterward met with them along the head waters of Bill Williams Fork, inhabiting the tops of the cotton-wood trees. When attracted to them by their notes, they could only be seen after a very careful search. He obtained no knowledge as to their mode of nesting, and no information, so far as we are aware, has been obtained in regard to their eggs. It may, however, be safely conjectured that they are white, and hardly distinguishable from those of the minimus. Dr. Coues found them common near Fort Whipple, Arizona.
Mr. Ridgway met with this bird in especial abundance among the cañons of West Humboldt Mountains in September. He found it also in all suitable places westward to the very base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was met with principally in the thick brushwood bordering the streams, in ever-restless companies, continually twittering as they flew from bush to bush, in single rows. Mr. Ridgway describes these birds as remarkably active in their movements. If unmolested, they were exceedingly unsuspicious and familiar. During November he found them inhabiting the cedars, always associating in scattered flocks.
GENUS AURIPARUS, BAIRD.
Auriparus, BAIRD, Rev. Am. Birds, 1864, 85. (Type, Ægithalus flaviceps, SUND.)
GEN. CHAR. Form sylvicoline. Bill conical, nearly straight, and very acute; the commissure very slightly and gently curved. Nostrils concealed by decumbent bristles. Wings long, little rounded; the first quill half the second; third, fourth, and fifth quills nearly equal, and longest. Tail slightly graduated. Lateral toes equal, the anterior united at the extreme base. Hind toe small, about equal to the lateral. Tarsus but little longer than the middle toe.
This genus is closely allied to Paroides of Europe, as shown in Birds of North America (p. 399), though sufficiently different. It is much more sylvicoline in appearance than the other American Paridæ.
Auriparus flaviceps, BAIRD.
YELLOW-HEADED BUSH-TITMOUSE; VERDIN.
Ægithalus flaviceps, SUNDEVALL, Ofversigt af Vet. Ak. Förh. VII, v, 1850, 129. Psaltria flaviceps, SCL. P. Z. S. XXIV, March, 1856, 37. Psaltriparus flaviceps, SCL. Catal. Am. Birds, 1861, 13, no. 79. Paroides flaviceps, BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 400, pl. liii, fig. 2. Auriparus flaviceps, BAIRD, Review, 1864, 85.—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 51. Conirostrum ornatum, LAWRENCE, Ann. N. Y. Lyc. May, 1851, 113, pl. v, fig. 1 (Texas).
SP. CHAR. Above cinereous; head, all round, yellow; lesser wing-coverts chestnut; beneath brownish-white. Length, 4.50 inches; wing, 2.16; tail, 2.35.
HAB. Valleys of the Rio Grande and Colorado; Cape St. Lucas.
[Line drawing: Auriparus flaviceps. 6764]
HABITS. This new and interesting little species was first added to our fauna by Mr. Lawrence in 1851, only a year after its first description as a bird of Mexico. Notwithstanding the abundance in which it has been in certain localities, less has been developed in regard to its habits and specific characteristics than we seem to have had a right to anticipate.
It was found in Western Texas, in Mexico, in the lower valleys of New Mexico and Arizona, and is very abundant at Cape St. Lucas. Of the eighteen species of birds found by Mr. John Xantus breeding in the last-named locality, this one was regarded as the most abundant. In a letter from that gentleman, written in August, 1859, he mentioned that he had collected over one hundred eggs of this species, during that season, in the immediate vicinity of Cape St. Lucas.
Dr. Heermann, in his report on the birds observed in Lieutenant Williamson’s explorations, states that he first discovered this species in Southern California, at the terminus of the Mohave River. Owing to their extreme wildness, he was not able to obtain any specimens. In searching for their food, he states that they often remained suspended with their backs downward, after the manner of the Titmice. He found their nests quite abundant, though from the lateness of the season few of the birds were remaining, in the neighborhood of Fort Yuma. Dr. Heermann describes their nests as spherical, formed of twigs, and having the entrance on one side. The interior was lined with down and feathers, and contained usually from four to six eggs. These he describes as having, when fresh, a ground-color of pale blue, dashed all over with small black spots.
Dr. Kennerly, in his Report on the Birds of the Mexican Boundary Survey, states that he met with this species in the vicinity of the Rio Grande. They were very wild, flew rapidly, and to quite a distance before they alighted. They seemed to frequent the low mezquite-bushes on the hillsides.
Mr. Xantus found this species, when he first arrived at San Lucas, on the 4th of April, with young birds already fully fledged, although others were still breeding and continued to breed until the middle of July. Two fifths of all the eggs he collected that season, he writes, were of this species. This may, however, have been in part owing to the conspicuous prominence of their nests, as well as to their abundance. Xantus found the nest in various positions. In one instance it was suspended from a leafless branch not three feet from the ground, with its entrance nearly to the ground. In another instance it was on an acacia twenty feet from the ground. For the most part they are hung from low acacia-trees, on the extreme outer branches. In all cases the entrance to the nest was from the lower end, or towards the ground.
Dr. J. G. Cooper, in his History of the Birds of California, speaks of finding a large number of this beautiful little bird during the whole winter frequenting the thickets of algarobia and other shrubs, and with habits intermediate between those of Titmice and Warblers, corresponding with their intermediate form. Their song resembles that of the Chickadee, and they also uttered a loud cry, as they sat on high twigs, with a triple lisping note resembling tzee-tee-tee. Dr. Cooper found a pair building on the 10th of March. They first formed a wall, nearly spherical in outline, of the thorny twigs of the algarobia, in which tree the nest was usually built. They then lined it with softer twigs, leaves, the down of plants, and feathers. They covered the outside with thorns, until it became a mass as large as a man’s head, or nine inches by five and a half on the outside. The cavity is four and a half inches by two, with an opening on one side just large enough for the bird to enter. On the 27th of March, Dr. Cooper found the first nest containing eggs. These were in all instances four in number, pale blue, with numerous small brown spots, chiefly near the larger end, though some had very few spots and were paler. Their size he gives as .60 by .44 of an inch. In one nest, which he closely observed, the eggs were hatched after about ten days’ incubation, and in two weeks more the young were ready to leave their nest.
SUBFAMILY SITTINÆ
The characters of the Sittinæ are expressed with sufficient detail on page 86. The section is represented in America by a single genus, confined mainly to the northern portion.
GENUS SITTA, LINNÆUS.
Sitta, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. 1735. (Agassiz.)
[Line drawing: Sitta carolinensis. 1761 ♀]
GEN. CHAR. Bill subulate, acutely pointed, compressed, about as long as the head; culmen and commissure nearly straight; gonys convex and ascending; nostrils covered by a tuft of bristles directed forward. Tarsi stout, scutellate, about equal to the middle toe, much shorter than the hinder, the claw of which is half the total length. Outer lateral toe much longer than inner, and nearly equal to the middle. Tail very short, broad, and nearly even; the feathers soft and truncate. Wings reaching nearly to the end of the tail, long and acute, the first primary one third of (or less) the third, or longest. Iris brown. Nest in holes of trees. Eggs white, spotted with reddish.
The North American species may be arranged as follows:—
A. Crown black.
S. carolinensis. Belly white; no black stripe through eye.
Bill, .70 long, .17 deep. Black spots on tertials sharply defined. Hab. Eastern Province North America … var. carolinensis.
Bill, .80 long, .14 deep. Black spots on tertials obsolete. Hab. Middle and Western Province United States, south to Cordova, Mexico … var. aculeata.
S. canadensis. Belly brownish-rusty. A black stripe through eye. Hab. Whole of North America.
B. Crown not black.
S. pusilla. Crown light hair-brown; hind toe much longer than the middle one. Hab. South Atlantic and Gulf States.
S. pygmæa. Crown greenish-plumbeous; hind toe about equal to middle one. Hab. Western and Middle Province United States, south to Xalapa.
Sitta carolinensis, var. carolinensis, LATH.
WHITE-BELLIED NUTHATCH.
Sitta europæa, var. γ, carolinensis, GM. S. N. I, 1788, 440. Sitta carolinensis, LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 262; also of all other American writers.—REICHENBACH, Handbuch, Abh. II, 1853, 153, tab. dxiii, figs. 3563, 3564.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 374, pl. xxxiii, fig. 4; Review, 86.—MAX. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 106. Sitta melanocephala, VIEILL. Gal. I, 1834, 171, pl. clxxi. Other figures: WILSON, Am. Orn. I, pl. ii, fig. 3.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, pl. clii.—IB. B. A. IV, pl. ccxlvii.
SP. CHAR. Above ashy-blue. Top of head and neck black. Under parts and sides of head to a short distance above the eye white. Under tail-coverts and tibial feathers brown; concealed primaries white. Bill stout. Female with black of head glossed with ashy. Length about 6 inches; wing about 3.75.
HAB. United States and British Provinces; west to the Valley of the Missouri.
HABITS. The common White-bellied Nuthatch has an extended distribution throughout nearly the whole of Eastern North America, from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. West of the great central plains it is replaced by the var. aculeata. It has not been met with, so far as I am aware, farther north than Nova Scotia. It is a resident of Eastern Maine, and is quite common in the southern and western portions of the same State. In Massachusetts it is rather common than abundant, and more plentiful in the western than in the eastern portions of that State.
The habits of this and the other species of Nuthatches partake somewhat of those of the smaller Woodpeckers and of the Titmice. Without the noisy and restless activity of the latter, they seek their food in a similar manner, and not unfrequently do so in their company, moving up or down the trunks and over or under the branches of trees, searching every crack and crevice of the bark for insects, larvæ, or eggs. Like the Woodpeckers, they dig industriously into decayed branches for the hidden grub, and like both Woodpeckers and Chickadees they industriously excavate for themselves a place for their nests in the decayed trunks of forest trees. Their nest, however, is usually at a greater elevation, often some twenty or thirty feet from the ground. The European Nuthatch is said to plaster up the entrance to its nest, to contract its opening and lessen the dangers of unfriendly intrusion. This habit has never been observed in any of the American species.
All our ornithological writers have noticed the assiduities of the male bird to his sitting mate, and the attention with which he supplies her with food. He keeps ever in the vicinity of the nest, calls her from time to time to come to the mouth of the hole to take her food, or else to receive his endearments and caresses, and at the approach of danger fearlessly intervenes to warn her of it. When feeding together, the male bird keeps up his peculiar nasal cry of hŏnk-hŏnk, repeating it from time to time, as he moves around the trunk or over the branches.
Their favorite food is insects, in every condition. With this, when abundant, they seem content, and rarely wander from their accustomed woods in summer. In winter, when snow or ice covers the branches or closes against them the trunks of trees, they seek the dwellings and out-houses for their necessary food, and will even alight on the ground in quest of seeds. In searching for food among the trees, they move as readily with their heads downward as in any other position. Their motion is a uniform and steady progression, somewhat in the manner of a mouse, but never, like the Woodpecker, by occasional hops.
The European species collect and store away the fruit of the hazel and other nut-bearing trees. Our bird has been supposed to do the same thing, but this is by no means an indisputable fact.
In some parts of the country absurd prejudices prevail against these interesting little birds. They are indiscriminately confounded with the smaller Woodpeckers, called, with them, Sap-Suckers, and because in the spring and fall they frequent old orchards are most unwisely, as well as unjustly, persecuted. They are among the most active and serviceable of the fruit-grower’s benefactors. His worst enemies are their favorite food. It is to be hoped that soon a better-informed public opinion will prevail, cherishing and protecting, rather than seeking to destroy, this useful, affectionate, and attractive species.
Interesting accounts are given in English works of the confiding tameness of the European species. When kindly treated, it will come regularly for its food, approaching within a foot or two of the hand of its benefactor, and catching with its bill the food thrown to it before it can reach the ground.
The pair work together in constructing the perforation in which they make their nest. When the excavation has been well begun, they relieve each other at the task. The one not engaged in cutting attends upon its mate, and carries out the chips as they are made. These nesting-places are often quite deep, not unfrequently from fifteen to twenty inches. Audubon states that they build no nest, but this does not correspond with my observations. In all the instances that have come to my knowledge, warm and soft nests were found, composed of down, fur, hair, or feathers loosely thrown together, and, though not large in bulk, yet sufficient for a lining for the enlarged cavity that completes their excavation. Soon after they are hatched, the young climb to the opening of the nest to receive their food, and, before they are ready to fly, venture out upon the trunk to try their legs and claws before their wings are prepared for use, retiring at night to their nest. In the Southern States they are said to have two broods in a season.
The eggs of this Nuthatch measure .80 by .62 of an inch. Their ground-color is white, but when the egg is fresh it has a beautiful roseate tinge, and generally receives an apparently reddish hue from the very general distribution of the spots and blotches of rusty-brown and purplish with which the eggs are so closely covered. These markings vary greatly in size, from fine dots to well-marked blotches. Their color is usually a reddish-brown; occasionally the markings are largely intermixed with purple.
Sitta carolinensis, var. aculeata, CASS.
SLENDER-BILLED NUTHATCH.
Sitta aculeata, CASSIN, Pr. A. N. Sc. VIII, Oct. 1856, 254.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 375, pl. xxxiii, fig. 3; Review, 86.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 54. ? Sitta carolinensis, SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1856, 293 (Cordova); 1858, 300 (Oaxaca); 1859, 363 (Xalapa), 373 (Oaxaca).
SP. CHAR. Very similar to carolinensis; but upper secondaries with only obscure blackish blotches, instead of sharply defined longitudinal spots of clear black. Bill slenderer and more attenuated.
HAB. Western and Middle Provinces of the United States, south to Cordova, Mex. Orizaba (Alpine regions), SUMICH.
The characters given above express the essential differences between this and the Eastern race of S. carolinensis. In the present form, the depth of the bill opposite its base is .14, the width .17, and .80 or more in length from the forehead; while these same measurements in var. carolinensis are .17, .22, and .70. The obsolete character of the black spots on the secondaries is a persistent feature in the var. aculeata.
HABITS. This bird chiefly differs from its eastern congener in its more slender bill. There appears to be no difference in regard to their habits, at least none have been noticed, and it is probable there is none other than trivial changes caused by its opportunities of procuring food, and the kinds upon which it subsists. It is supposed to be distributed throughout Western North America, from the British Possessions to Mexico, though Dr. Cooper thinks that it is not a common bird south of San Francisco, and only to be seen there in the colder months. It has been met with at San Diego in February. He did not observe any in the Coast Mountains, near Santa Cruz, but northward they are numerous in the summer, frequenting chiefly the groves of the deciduous oaks, creeping constantly about their trunks and branches in search of insects, which they also occasionally seek on the roofs and walls of houses. Their habits are similar to those of S. canadensis, but their movements are said to be slower, and their note is a single harsh call, uttered occasionally, and responded to by their comrades. Dr. Cooper found them quite common in Washington Territory and at Puget Sound. Dr. Suckley also mentions their great abundance.
Dr. Kennerly met with this species a hundred miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and quite abundant among the pines of the Sierra Madre. He speaks of its note as being peculiar.
Mr. J. K. Lord states that this species remained about Colville during the winter, when the thermometer was 30° below zero. He also mentions that he found them nesting, in June, in the branches of the tallest pine-trees, so high up as to render the obtaining their eggs almost an impossibility.
Mr. Ridgway found the Slender-billed Nuthatch abundant, throughout the year, in the vicinity of Carson City, among the pines on the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He noted its great similarity in manners to the carolinensis; at the same time the well-marked difference in the notes did not escape his attention. These notes are much weaker, and are uttered in a finer tone, and some of them are said to be entirely different.
Sitta canadensis, LINN.
RED-BELLIED NUTHATCH.
Sitta canadensis, LINN. Syst. Nat. I, 1766, 177.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, pl. cviii.—IB. Birds Am. IV, pl. ccxlviii.—REICH. Handb. Abh. II, 1853, 152, tab. dxiii, figs. 3561, 3562.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 376; Review, 87.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 15, no. 91.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 54. Sitta varia, WILS. Am. Orn. I, 1808, 40, pl. ii.
SP. CHAR. Above ashy-blue. Top of head black; a white line above and a black one through the eye. Chin white; rest of under parts brownish-rusty. Length about 4.50 inches; wing, 2.66. Female with the black of head mixed with ashy; beneath paler, more of a muddy-white.
HAB. Whole United States and British Provinces. North to Lake Winnipeg.
HABITS. The common Red-bellied Nuthatch, though nowhere a very abundant species, is found throughout the whole of North America, from Florida to high northern regions, and from ocean to ocean. The Smithsonian Institution possesses specimens from Georgia, Selkirk Settlement, California, and Washington Territory. Mr. Gambel found them quite common in the mountains in the interior of California, in October, roving in company with busy flocks of the Parus montanus.
Dr. Cooper met with them abundantly in Washington Territory, where they preferred the oaks and other deciduous trees, and never frequented the interior of the dense forest. He observed this bird and the Slender-billed Nuthatch, along the 49th parallel, east of the Cascade Mountains, as late as the middle of October. Dr. Suckley also met both birds west of the same mountains.
This Nuthatch was observed by Mr. Ridgway among the aspen groves bordering the streams that flow from the East Humboldt Mountains. In that locality it was common through the month of September, though not abundant. It was again seen in June among the pine-woods of the Wahsatch Mountains, but it was not common.
While a few of these birds are resident of the Northern States, they are, to a considerable extent, of migratory habits. Wilson observed them leaving in large numbers for the Southern States in October, and returning again in April. On the 20th of May, 1867, the writer observed a small flock in Eastern Massachusetts, evidently just arrived from the South. They were apparently fatigued and hungry, and paid no attention to the near presence of workmen engaged in setting bean-poles. They visited and carefully examined each pole, and bored holes into several in search of hidden larvæ, often within a few feet of persons at work.
While on the Pacific coast they are said to prefer the forests of deciduous trees, and to be rarely found in the dark evergreen forests, in the Eastern States they seem to be particularly fond of the seeds of pine-trees, and in the winter are seldom found in the woods of deciduous trees.
They feed in pairs and climb about in all directions, usually in company with the white-breasted species, Chickadees, and the smaller Woodpeckers. They are restless and rapid in their motions, and have a voice at least an octave higher than any other of this family. The note is a monotone, and is unmusical. Mr. Nuttall represents their cry as consisting of three syllables, represented by dāy-dāy-dāit, and compares it to the sound of a child’s trumpet.
Those wintering at the North occasionally visit farm-yards and orchards, and examine the eaves of outbuildings for food.
Audubon found this species more plentiful in the woods of Maine and Nova Scotia than anywhere else. He never met any south of Maryland, saw none in Newfoundland, and only met with one in Labrador. At Eastport he found a pair breeding as early as the 19th of April, before the Bluebirds had made their appearance, and while ice was still remaining on the northern exposures. An excavation had been made in a low dead stump, less than four feet from the ground, both male and female birds working by turns until they had reached the depth of fourteen inches. The eggs, four in number, were of a white ground-color, tinged with a deep blush when fresh, and sprinkled with reddish dots. They raise but a single brood in a season.
C. S. Paine, of East Bethel, Vt., found a nest of this species about the middle of May, in a small beech-tree, the excavation having been made at the height of twelve feet from the ground. The hole was about as large as that made by the Downy Woodpecker. When first noticed, the bird was looking out of the hole. Having been started out, she flew to a limb close by and watched the party some time. When she flew back, she buzzed before the hole in the manner of a Humming-Bird, and then darted in. While Mr. Paine was looking on, the male came several times to feed his mate, who would meet him at the opening with a clamorous noise, to receive his bounty. The nest contained five eggs.
In Western Massachusetts, Mr. Allen speaks of this species as chiefly a winter resident, appearing the first week in October, and leaving the last of April.
The eggs of this species measure .62 by .48 of an inch, and are of an oblong-oval shape. Their ground-color is a clear crystal white, marked principally about the larger end with a wreath of purple and roseate markings.
Sitta pygmæa, VIG.
PIGMY NUTHATCH.
Sitta pygmæa, VIGORS, Zoöl. Beechey’s Voy. 1839, 25, pl. iv.—AUD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, pl. ccccxv.—IB. Birds Am. IV, pl. ccl.—REICH. Handb. 1853, 153, tab. dxiv, figs. 3365, 3366.—NEWBERRY, P. R. R. Rep. VI, IV, 1857, 79.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 378; Review, 88.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1859, 363 (Xalapa).—IB. Catal. 1861, 15, no. 93.—COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 55.
SP. CHAR. Above ashy-blue; head and upper part of neck greenish ashy-brown, its lower border passing a little below the eye, where it is darker; nape with an obscure whitish spot. Chin and throat whitish; rest of lower parts brownish-white; the sides and behind like the back, but paler. Middle tail-feather like the back; its basal half with a long white spot; its outer web edged with black at the base. Length about 4 inches; wing, 2.40.
HAB. Western and Middle Provinces of United States; south to Xalapa.
This species is closely related to Sitta pusilla of the Southern States. The brown of the head has, however, an olivaceous-green tinge not seen in the other; the white spot on the nape less distinct. The middle tail-feather has its basal half white and the outer web edged with black at the base. This black edging is never seen in the other, and the white patch is reduced to a faint trace, only visible in very highly plumaged specimens.
HABITS. This diminutive species of Nuthatch is found throughout our Pacific coast and on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, from Washington Territory to Southern California. It is also to be found in New Mexico, and specimens have been procured from Mexico.
Dr. Kennerly found them quite abundant in the Sierra Madre and San Francisco Mountains, even as high up as the snow-line, seeking their insect food among the tops of the lofty pines. Dr. Newberry frequently met with these Nuthatches in the most wooded places on his route, where water was near and any considerable amount of animal life visible. He, however, never met with them in the forests of yellow pines. Dr. Gambel mentions their almost extraordinary abundance, in the winter months, in Upper California. Around Monterey, at times, the trees appeared almost alive with them, as they ran up and down and around the branches and trunks, uttering their monotonous and querulous cries. Their note he describes as a repeated whistling wit-wit. When one utters this cry, the rest join in. They also have a whistling trill while they are busily searching the tree in every part, and they never leave till they have pretty thoroughly searched every crack.
Dr. Cooper only met with this Nuthatch in the open pine-forests about Fort Colville, near the 49th parallel. They were associated in small flocks about the 20th of October, when there were heavy frosts at night. The chirping noise they made resembled the cries of young chickens. Their habits were very similar to those of the Psaltriparus minimus.
Mr. J. K. Lord found this Nuthatch an abundant bird along the entire length of the boundary line from the coast to the Rocky Mountains. It was also common on Vancouver Island. They were seen in large flocks in company with the Chickadees, except during the nesting-time, which is in June. A few were winter residents at Colville, but the greater number left in November. He describes it as a very active bird, always on the move. After nesting they congregate in large flocks and move about from tree to tree, twittering a low sweet note as if singing to themselves, now climbing back downwards along the under sides of the topmost branches of tall pines, searching into every crevice for insects, or, descending to the ground, clinging to the slender flower-stalks for other insects. They nest in June, make a hole in the dead branch of a pine, and deposit their eggs on the bare chips of the wood. This account does not agree with the experience of California ornithologists, who have found a loose nest within the excavation.
Mr. Ridgway found this Nuthatch abundant among the pines of the Sierra Nevada, in the vicinity of Carson City. They were found generally in pairs. Its note is said to greatly resemble the vociferous peeping of some of the small Sandpipers, being sharp, loud, and distinct, and vigorously and continuously uttered, whether climbing or flying. He found it exceedingly hard to discover this bird among the branches, or even when flying, owing to the swiftness and irregularity of its flight. When the female of a pair had been killed, the male bird was extremely loud in his lamentations. Diminutive as this bird is, Mr. Ridgway states that it is also the noisiest of all the feathered inhabitants of the pines, though it is less active in the pursuit of insects than the larger species.
Nests of this bird obtained near Monterey appear to be as well made as those of any of this genus, lining the cavity in which they are placed and conforming to it in size and shape, the materials sufficiently interwoven to permit removal and preservation, and warmly constructed of feathers, wool, vegetable down, hair, and the silky efflorescence of seeds.
Their eggs, seven in number, resemble those of the S. canadensis, but are of smaller size and a little more pointed at one end. Their ground-color is crystalline-white. This is covered more or less thickly with red spots, most numerous at the larger end. Their measure varies from .65 by .50 to .60 by .47 of an inch. The first eggs of this bird brought to the notice of naturalists were procured at Fort Crook on the Upper Sacramento of California, and not far from Mount Shasta, by Sergeant John Feilner, U. S. A., forming part of a very extensive collection of birds and eggs transmitted by him to the Smithsonian Institution. Promoted to a lieutenancy for gallant conduct, this gentleman finally attained the rank of captain of cavalry, and was killed by the Sioux during an exploring expedition into Dacotah under General Sully.
Sitta pusilla, LATH.
BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH.
Sitta pusilla, LATH. Ind. Orn. I, 1790, 263.—WILS. Am. Orn. II, 1810, 105, pl. XV.—AUD. Orn. Biog. II, 1834, pl. cxxv.—IB. Birds Am. IV, pl. ccxlix.—REICH. Handb. 1853, 153, tab. dxiv, figs. 3567, 3568.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 377; Review, 88.—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 15.
SP. CHAR. Above ashy-blue; top of head and upper part of neck rather light hair-brown, divided on the nape by white. Eye involved in the brown, which is deeper on the lower border. Beneath muddy-whitish; sides and behind paler than the back. Middle tail-feathers almost entirely like the back. Length of female, 4 inches; wing, 2.50.
HAB. South Atlantic and Gulf States. Ohio! KIRTLAND.
HABITS. The Brown-headed Nuthatch has a much more restricted distribution than the other members of this family in this country. The specimens in the Smithsonian Museum are chiefly from Georgia. Wilson met with it in Virginia, and states that it is found in the other Southern States. I have received its eggs from Cheraw, S. C., and from Florida.
Wilson’s description of its habits makes them almost identical with those of Sitta canadensis, while its notes are more shrill and chirping. Like that bird, it is very fond of the seeds of the pines. Wherever found, it is a constant resident, and does not migrate.
Audubon states that this bird never goes farther north than Maryland, and that it is the most abundant in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In Louisiana it is rare, and it is not found in Kentucky. Its notes, he states, are several octaves higher than those of the carolinensis, and more shrill, and at least an octave and a half higher than those of the canadensis.
Although apparently preferring pines and pine barrens, it by no means confines itself to them, but is not unfrequently seen on low trees and fences, mounting, descending, and turning in every direction, and with so much quickness of motion as to render it difficult to shoot it. It examines every hole and every crevice in the bark of trees, as well as their leaves and twigs, among which it finds abundance of food at all seasons. During the breeding-season they go about in pairs and are very noisy. Their only note is a monotonous cry, described as resembling dĕnd, dĕnd. Mr. Audubon further states that when the first brood leaves the nest, the young birds keep together, moving from tree to tree with all the activity of their parents, who join them when the second brood is able to keep them company. In Florida they pair in the beginning of February, having eggs as early as the middle of that month. In South Carolina they breed one month later. Their nest is usually excavated by the birds themselves in the dead portion of a low stump or sapling, sometimes only a few feet from the ground, but not unfrequently at the height of thirty or forty feet. Both birds are said to work in concert with great earnestness for several days, until the hole, which is round, and not larger at the entrance than the body of the bird, is dug ten or twelve inches deep, widening at the bottom. The eggs, according to Mr. Audubon, are laid on the bare wood. This, however, is probably not their constant habit. The eggs, from four to six in number, and not much larger than those of the Humming-Bird, have a white ground, thickly sprinkled with fine reddish-brown dots. They are said to raise two, and even three, broods in a season. According to the observations of the late Dr. Gerhardt of Northern Georgia, the Brown-headed Nuthatch breeds in that part of the country about the 19th of April.
The eggs of this Nuthatch are of a rounded oval shape, measuring .60 by .50 of an inch. Their white ground-color is so completely overlaid by a profusion of fine dottings of a dark purplish-brown as to be entirely concealed, and the egg appears almost as if a uniform chocolate or brown color.
FAMILY CERTHIADÆ.—THE CREEPERS
CHAR. Primaries ten; first very short; less than half the second. Tail long, wedge-shaped, the feathers stiffened and acute. Bill slender, much compressed and curved. Outer lateral toe much longest; hind toe exceeding both the middle toe and the tarsus, which is scutellate anteriorly and very short. Entire basal joint of middle toe united to the lateral.
GENUS CERTHIA, LINN.
Certhia, LINNÆUS, Syst. Nat. ed. 10th, 1758, 112. (Type, C. familiaris.) (See REICHENBACH, Handbuch, I, II, 1853, 256, for a monograph of the genus.)
[Line drawing: Certhia americana. 827 ♂]
GEN. CHAR. Plumage soft and loose. Bill as long as head, not notched, compressed; all its lateral outlines decurved. Nostrils not overhung by feathers, linear, with an incumbent thickened scale, as in Troglodytes. No rictal bristles, and the loral and frontal feathers smooth, without bristly shafts. Tarsus scutellate anteriorly, shorter than middle toe, which again is shorter than hind toe. All claws very long, much curved and compressed; outer lateral toe much the longer; basal joint of middle toe entirely adherent to adjacent ones. Wings rather pointed, about equal to the tail, the feathers of which are much pointed, with stiffened shafts. Primaries ten; first less than half the second. Nest in holes of trees; eggs white, sprinkled with reddish.
Of the Certhiadæ but one genus belongs to America,—Certhia, with its one small species of considerable variability with locality. The characters above given include both family and generic characters, derived from this one genus. This is readily distinguished by the decurved, compressed bill; absence of notch and bristles; exposed linear nostrils with incumbent scales; connate middle toe, very long claws, short tarsi, pointed and stiffened tail-feathers, etc.
The American and European varieties (they can scarcely be called species) resemble each other very closely, though they appear to be distinguished by such differences as the following:—
The two European races, C. familiaris and C. costæ, both differ from all the American varieties in having the crissum scarcely tinged with yellowish. C. familiaris is more ashy beneath than any others, and C. costæ is purest white beneath of all. Nearest C. familiaris, in the American series, as regards tints of the upper parts, are the Pacific coast specimens of C. americana,—while the latter are most like the Atlantic region specimens of the same. C. mexicana is to be compared only with the North American forms, though it is the only one approaching familiaris in the ashy lower parts.
C. familiaris is at once separated from the rest by having the tail shorter than the wing.
C. costæ is almost precisely like Eastern specimens of C. americana in colors, but is absolutely pure white below, and without the distinctly yellowish crissum of the American bird. The bill and claws, however, are considerably longer than in Eastern americana, though their size is almost equalled by those of Western specimens; the colors are, however, more decidedly different.
There is never any deviation from the generic pattern of coloration; but the variation, among individuals of each form, in length of the bill and claws, as well as the tail, is remarkable.
Certhia familiaris, var. americana, BONAP.
BROWN CREEPER.
Certhia fusca, BARTON, Fragments of the Natural History of Pennsylvania, 1799, II. Certhia familiaris, VIEILL. Ois. Am. Sept. II, 1807, 70 (not the European bird); also of WILSON and AUDUBON.—MAYNARD, Birds E. Mass. 1870, 93. Certhia americana, BONAP. Comp. List. 1838.—REICH. Handb. I, 1853, 265, pl. dcxv, figs. 4102, 4103.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 372; Review, 89.—MAX. Cab. Jour. 1858, 105.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep. XII, II, 1859, 192.—HAMLIN, Pr. Bost. Soc. N. H. 1864—66, 80. Certhia mexicana, COOPER, Orn. Cal. 1, 1870, 58.
SP. CHAR. Bill about the length of the head. Above dark brown, with a slightly rufous shade, each feather streaked centrally, but not abruptly, with whitish; rump rusty. Beneath almost silky-white; the under tail-coverts with a faint rusty tinge. A white streak over the eye; the ear-coverts streaked with whitish. Tail-feathers brown centrally, the edges paler yellowish-brown. Wings with a transverse bar of pale reddish-white across both webs. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.60; tail, 2.90. (No. 827.)
Young. (5945, Steilacoom, W. T.; Dr. J. S. Cooper.) Resembling the adult, but streaks above indistinct, and the feathers there tipped indistinctly with blackish; the rufous restricted to the upper tail-coverts. Breast and jugulum with very minute blackish wavings or indistinct bars.
HAB. Whole of United States, to Red River Settlement.
Specimens from the far west are purer white beneath, much as in costæ, but those from the northwest coast have the white tinged with light rusty. Though purer white below, these specimens are much browner above than Eastern ones,—sometimes more so than in familiaris, but then there is the yellowish crissum never seen in this “species,” and the proportions are quite different. Thus it will be seen the C. americana may always be distinguished from the other forms; when most resembling costæ in the grayish tints of the upper plumage (as in Eastern examples), the lower parts are less purely white, and the bill and claws smaller; when like it in the proportions and pure white of the lower parts (as in Western specimens), the colors above are altogether more brown. The yellowish crissum of americanus will also distinguish them. Though often resembling familiaris in the colors of the upper parts, the latter may always be distinguished by its ashy lower parts without yellowish crissum, the shorter tail, with its less acute feathers, and stouter bill.
C. mexicanus is still more different in colors, for which see that variety.
HABITS. Our common Creeper, so closely resembling the Creeper of Europe as by many to be supposed identical with it, is distributed over the whole of North America, from the Gulf of Mexico to high northern latitudes. At different seasons it may be found in every one of the several States and Territories, yet it is never very abundant. The Smithsonian possesses specimens from various parts of the country, from Georgia to Fort Steilacoom on the Pacific, but of these none appear to have been secured during the period of reproduction. Dr. Heermann found them very common in the more mountainous districts of California. Dr. Cooper found these birds abundant in the forests of Washington Territory, but difficult to detect from the similarity of their color to that of the bark over which they crept. They were apparently constant residents in that Territory. Dr. Suckley, who obtained several specimens of this species in the oak groves in the vicinity of Fort Steilacoom, states that in their habits the Western birds resemble those of the Atlantic States.
Mr. Ridgway found this Creeper inhabiting both the pine forests of the Sierra Nevada, where it was the more common, and also, in winter, among the willows of the river valleys. He did not meet with it east of the Truckee River, nor until he had reached the Wahsatch Mountains.
Dr. Woodhouse found the Brown Creeper generally distributed throughout the Indian Territory, Texas, New Mexico, and California, and adds that it was especially abundant in the San Francisco Mountains of New Mexico.
Dr. Cooper states that he has met with this form in the winter throughout the higher mountains and among the Coast Range as far south as Santa Cruz. He found them chiefly frequenting the coniferous trees, creeping up and down their trunks and branches, searching for insects in their crevices, and so nearly resembling the bark in their general color, that they can be detected only with great difficulty, except when in motion.
He adds that their notes are shrill and wiry, and are often heard when the bird is scarcely visible, without a careful search, their cry appearing to be from a greater distance than the real performer. In March, Dr. Cooper heard them giving out a faint but sharp-toned song, resembling that of a Wren. If Dr. Cooper is correct in his account of the notes, they do not correspond with those of our Eastern bird.
Dr. Kennerly, in his Report on the birds observed by him near the 35th parallel, states that he found our common Creeper very abundant among the rough-barked cedars in the Aztec Mountains. It usually attracted notice, and its place of retreat was discovered, by his hearing its quick and sharp notes. A close and careful search generally enabled him to perceive it proceeding leisurely upward and downward, in straight or spiral lines, toward the top of the tree, dodging dexterously to the opposite side from the observer, and only resuming its occupation when assured of solitude and safety.
The observations of Dr. Kennerly, if they are to be received as characteristic of the Western Creepers, do not correspond with those of our Eastern birds, as far as we have observed them. None of our birds are more easily approached, and when they are pursuing their search for food, none are more regardless of observation. The statement that our Creeper, when watched, moves to the opposite side of the tree from the looker-on, has found a certain currency in our books. We are, however, of the opinion that this is owing to its restless activity, prompting it to constant changes of place and position, and not to its timidity or caution. We have uniformly found them either unconscious or regardless of our near presence.
They are solitary in their habits, and frequent, especially in the summer, deep woods, searching for their favorite food in high places where it is difficult to reach them, but this is no necessary evidence of their shyness. They often hunt for their food in very exposed places, with equal courage and recklessness. It is an active, restless bird, associating with Titmice and the smaller Woodpeckers, moving with great rapidity from side to side and from place to place. They breed in hollow trees, in the deserted holes of the Woodpeckers, and in the decayed stumps and branches of trees. Their nest is a loose aggregation of soft, warm materials, not interwoven, but simply collected with regard to no other requisite than warmth.
In the summer of 1851 our party, in their visit to one of the smaller Grand Menan Islands, was so fortunate as to meet with the nest of this bird. It was built in a decayed birch-tree, only a few feet from the ground, and contained five eggs nearly ready to hatch. This was on the 20th of June. The nest was an intermingling of decayed wood, the fur of small quadrupeds, and feathers, but with so little adherence or consistency of form that it was impossible to retain the materials in position after removal.
So far from evincing any timidity, the birds refused to leave their nest, and could hardly be prevented from following it when removed from the woods to a house on the island. One of our companions, returning to the woods in order to secure the birds for the sake of identification, found the pair still lingering round the place of their rifled nest. Upon his approach they began to circle round his head with reproachful cries, and continued to keep so close to him that it was impossible to shoot one without mutilating it. At length one of the birds alighted on a small branch held over his head by a lad who accompanied him, and in this position was secured by shooting it with a pistol loaded with the finest shot. Its mate could have been secured, as she persisted in pursuing them, but she was not molested. Throughout there was not a trace of timidity on the part of either bird, but the most reckless and daring devotion.
Besides the single call-note or the sharp outcry with which the Creepers signalize their movements, and which they utter from time to time as they rapidly and busily move up and down the trunks and limbs, or flit from tree to tree, they have been generally regarded as having no song. But this is not the fact. The careful observations of Mr. William Brewster of Cambridge have satisfied him that these birds have a very distinct and varied song. During the winter these birds are not uncommon in the vicinity of Boston, coming about the houses with all the tameness and confidence of the Parus atricapillus, and permit a very near approach. They are very easily attracted by suspending from a piazza a piece of fat meat. Mr. Brewster has observed them commence singing as early as the 14th of March. Their notes are varied and warbling and somewhat confused; some of them are loud, powerful, and surpassingly sweet, others are more feeble and plaintive; their song usually ends with their accustomed cry, which may be represented by crēē-crēē-crē-ēp. Mr. Brewster, besides repeatedly hearing them sing in Massachusetts in the early spring, has also listened to their song in Maine in the month of June.
Their eggs are small in proportion to the size of the bird, are nearly oval in shape, with a grayish-white ground, sparingly sprinkled with small, fine, red and reddish-brown spots. They measure .55 by .43 of an inch.
Certhia familiaris, var. mexicana, GLOG.
MEXICAN CREEPER.
Certhia mexicana, “GLOGER, Handbuch,” REICHENBACH, Handbuch, I, 1853, 265, pl. dlxii, figs. 3841, 3842.—SCLATER, P. Z. S. 1856, 290; 1858, 297; 1859, 362, 372.—SALVIN, Ibis, 1866, 190 (Volcan de Fuego, Guat.).—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 373 (under _C. americana_), pl. lxxxiii, fig. 2; Review, 90.
SP. CHAR. Ground-color above very dark sepia-brown, each feather with a sharply defined medial streak of grayish-white, these streaks becoming broader posteriorly, where they are discontinued at the beginning of the rump. Whole rump and upper tail-coverts chestnut-rufous. Beneath pale ashy, becoming almost white on the throat; crissal feathers deep ochraceous except at the tips, which are whitish. Markings of the wings as usual. Measurements (8176, Mexico): wing, 2.50; tail, 2.70; bill (from nostril), .48; hind claw, .30.
HAB. Guatemala and Mexico; probably extending along the table-lands into the United States.
This is one of the best marked of the various races that have been discussed (see p. 124). The ground-color of the upper parts is altogether darker than in any of the others, and the streaks are more sharply defined and narrower; the rufous of the rump is of a castaneous, instead of yellowish cast; the wings appear more uniform with the back, owing to the dark color of the latter, and their pale markings have little of that yellowish tinge so noticeable in the others. In the ashy tinge of the lower parts there is a resemblance to familiaris of Europe; but the latter has not the ochraceous crissum so noticeable in the present bird. There is little resemblance to Western and Rocky Mountain specimens of the C. americana and if these are to be considered as separable from the Eastern (which, however, would not, in our opinion, be advisable) they must not be referred to mexicana.
The Mexican Creeper is introduced here on account of the probability of its occurrence in the Southern Rocky Mountains.
HABITS. Mr. Salvin found the Mexican Tree-Creeper by no means uncommon in the pine forests of the upper zone of the Volcan de Fuego. He also observed it frequenting pine-trees in the district of Chilasco, Vera Paz, at about 6,000 feet above the sea.