The species of this family, which are permanent residents in the middle and northern States, and especially the tufted or crested Chickadee (_L. bicolor_,) are among the very first of the feathered inhabitants of our woodlands to welcome the advent of spring, and to hail with their clear and melodious notes the earliest tokens of the decline of winter. Even on fine days in February or early in March, the crested Chickadee may often be heard, apparently indulging himself in gratifying anticipations of the approaching spring-time; or it may be, that not being instinctively weather-wise like the beaver, and not at all versed in wise saws or modern instances, he thinks that it has already come. Which conclusion, though sometimes adopted quite as summarily by tidy house-keepers, is very apt to be demonstrated by the storms of St. Patrick’s day to be entirely illusory. The tits or chickadees are abundant birds in the temperate and northern regions of both hemispheres, most so perhaps in Europe, though the researches of ornithologists have added numerous species to those formerly known to inhabit Asia and America. Several very handsome birds of this family have been discovered, within a few years, inhabiting the Himalaya mountains, and other parts of India, and in Japan. In North America the species have increased from two only, which were figured by the celebrated Wilson, to twelve, the additions having been principally from the Western States, and from Texas and Mexico, and there can be no doubt that in the almost unexplored countries of North-Western America as well as in those which have received a greater degree of the attention of zoological travellers, such as Texas, California and Mexico, others yet remain to be discovered. There are about fourteen European species of this group of birds, and about twenty which are exclusively Asiatic. A few species of allied genera inhabit Africa and New Zealand, but none of near relationship have yet been found in Australia nor in South America. The species of all countries appear to be very similar in their habits, and live almost entirely in the forests, subsisting exclusively on insects in the summer, and in the winter partially substituting seeds and berries for their more grateful food. The black-crested chickadee is a native of Texas and probably also of Mexico. It was discovered in the former country by Mr. John Woodhouse Audubon, a son of the distinguished ornithologist, and was first described by us in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. It is very similar to the crested chickadee in form and general appearance, but exhibits a striking difference in having the crest entirely black, by which character it is distinguished from all others of the genus to which it belongs.