284 THE BUSH-TIT. 



an eye appears at the entrance, the Ijird briblles up and hisses in a \ery snake- 

 like fashion. This is too niucii for the nerves of a Chipmunk, and we guess 

 that the single bro(jd of a Chickadee is not often disturbed 



No. 110. 



BUSH-TIT. 



A. O. U. No. 743. Psaltriparus minimus (Towns.). 



Synonyms. — Lii.xsx Ri>ii-tit. I'igict Sound Bush-tit. Pacific Bush-tit. 



Description. — Adults: Crown and hinchieck warm brown abruptly contrast- 

 ing with dull leaden or mouse gray hue of remaining upperparts ; wings and tail 

 slaty edged with pale gray; sides of head like crown but duller and paler; under- 

 parts sordid brownish white deepening into dull drab on sides and flanks. Length 

 about 4.00 ( loi ) ; wing 1.87 (47.5); tail 2.0s (52); bill .26 (6.9); tarsus .62 

 (15-8). 



Recognition Marks. — PyS'^y size ; leaden coloration with brownish cap 

 unmistakable. 



Nesting. — Nest: a pendulous pouch from six inches to a foot in length and 

 three or four inches in diameter, with small entrance hole in side near top; an 

 exquisite fabrication of mosses, plant-down and other soft vegetable substances 

 bound together b}' cobwebs and ornamented externally with lichens, etc., lined 

 with plant-down and feathers ; placed at moderate heights in bushes, rarely from 

 ten to twenty feet up in hr trees. Eggs: 5-8, usually 7, dull white frequently 

 discoloring to pale drab during incubation. Av. size .55 x .40 (13.9x10.2). 

 Season: April-July; two or more broods. 



General Range. — Pacific Coast district from I^ijwer California to the Fraser 

 River. 



Range in Washington. — Resident west of the Cascades at lower levels, rare 

 northerly — perhaps nearly confined to the I^uget Sound basin. 



Authorities. — Pains iiiiniiiius, Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VH. 

 1837, 190 (Columbia River). C&S. Ra. Kk. B."E. 



Specimens. — L^. of W. Prov. B. 



IT IS an age of specialists. The man who could do anything — after 

 a fashion — has gi\en place to the man who can do one thing well. And in 

 this we liave but followed Natiu'e's example. The birds are specialists. 

 The Loon is a diver ; the Cormorant a fisher ; the Petrel a mariner, and so 

 on inilil we come to Swallows, who are either masons or mining engineers; 

 and to Catbird and Thrush, who are trained musicians. 



The Bush-Tits belong to the builders' caste. They are specialists in 

 domestic architecture. The little Ijirds not onl\- enjov their task; they have 

 nestd)uilding" on the jjrain. A beautifid home is more than meat to them. 



