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.