VERDIN; YELLOW-HEADED TIT

746. Auriparus flaviceps. 4¼ inches

Adult male with the head and throat yellow, usually with some concealed orange brown on the forehead; lesser wing-coverts reddish brown. The female is colored very similarly, but is much duller. These are among the smallest of N. A. birds; they are even smaller than their length would indicate, for their bodies are slender. The birds are usually found in high dry portions of the country where cacti and thorny bushes predominate.

Nest.—Their nests are remarkable structures for so diminutive birds; flask-shaped, the outside being a mass of thorny twigs and stems interwoven; this is lined with feathers and the entrance is a small circular hole near the top. The eggs are bluish white specked around the large end with reddish brown.

Range.—Mexican border of the United States from southern Texas to Arizona and Lower California.