COAST BUSHTIT 439 



"P. minimus minimus as compared with P. m. calif amicus, is darker 

 colored throughout, birds seasonably comparable being contrasted, the 

 under parts are heavily suffused with dusky, and the flanks are more 

 distinctly vinaceous. These differences are quite as apparent in the 

 Juvenal plumage as in the adult, sometimes more so." (Swarth, 1914.) 



Courtship. — Alice Baldwin Addicott (1938) has published a very 

 full and detailed account of the behavior of the bushtit in the breeding 

 season, from which I shall quote freely. As to the beginning of the 

 mating season, she says : 



As early as January and February flocks of bush-tits which have remained 

 intact during the fall and winter start dividing into smaller and smaller groups. 

 At the same time a few pairs may be found which have separated from the flocks 

 and which have wandered off in search of nesting territory. 



* * * At the beginning of the mating season, courtship may be observed in pairs 

 which have separated from the flocks as well as within the small flocks which 

 are existent during this part of the year. Courting consists chiefly of excited 

 location notes, trills and sexual posturing. * * * 



Territorial ownership appears to be poorly developed. When a stray bird 

 enters the territory of a nesting pair, the latter may respond by chasing the 

 intruder for a few seconds, giving utterance to excited alarm notes and trills, 

 until the intruder leaves. However, in many instances a stray bird is ignored, 

 and it may even be allowed to forage with the mated pair. 



She goes on to show that toleration of stray birds in the nesting 

 territory may often go so far as to permit a third bird to forage in the 

 territory for an hour at a time and even to take part in the nesting 

 activities, suggesting that the gregarious habits of the species may c.arry 

 over into the breeding season. 



Nesting. — The curious and beautiful nests of the bushtits are works 

 of art and marvels of avian architecture. In marked contrast to the 

 thorny castles of the verdins, the long, gourd-shaped, hanging pockets 

 of the bushtits are made of the softest materials and are often prettily 

 decorated or camouflaged. Some nests are more or less concealed among 

 the foliage or among hanging bunches of beardlike lichens, but most 

 of them are suspended in plain sight, where one might easily be over- 

 looked as a stray wisp of lichens or an aQCumulation of plant debris. 



The nests are hung in a variety of trees, saplings, or bushes at various 

 heights, although a large majority are not over 15 feet above the ground. 



Mrs. Addicott (1938) remarked that most of the nests she studied at 

 Palo Alto, Calif., were in oaks, but this does not seem to be always 

 true elsewhere. Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1936) have given the 

 data for 38 nests on Point Lobos Reserve, Calif. ; the kinds of trees oc- 

 cupied and the heights of the nests from the ground were as follows : 16 



