90 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



of the nest, though in my experience the nest is not easily found. An 

 intruder near the nest is scolded persistently and vigorously with a 

 krrring note, which becomes intenser as one nears the nest and de- 

 creases as one moves away from it. During the incubation period 

 patient watching and listening should indicate the point from which 

 the male sings as he goes to the nest and as he leaves. In either case, 

 a search of the likely bushes in the region so indicated may reveal 

 the nest. Finding the nest by watching adults carrying food is com- 

 paratively easy in this species. I never found that a random hunt 

 through the bushes paid dividends. 



The reaction of a wren-tit on a nest to an intruder varied in my 

 experience. If the approach is quiet, the wren-tit usually remains on 

 the nest until the hand is brought within a few inches. Then it silently 

 slips off into the surrounding brush. Here it may remain quiet or it 

 may scold. Sometimes the song or pit-pit call is given. Twice I was 

 successful in painting a spot on the tail of an incubating bird. Three 

 times birds with young exploded from the nest and fluttered and 

 tumbled through the brush rapidly vibrating their wings, but these 

 cases were the exception. 



A wren-tit rarely, if ever, deserts eggs or young. Several nests I 

 found in the early stages of construction were subsequently completed 

 and used. Others were not, though there was no direct evidence that 

 my discovery caused the desertion. One pair continued to incubate 

 although work on a nearby trail pulled the nest into an exposed 

 position at the top of the brush. 



Voice. — The wren-tit is best known by its song, a series of loud- 

 ringing whistlelike notes all on the same pitch and given at decreas- 

 ing intervals until they run together into a trill. Grinnell (1913) 

 recorded it as pit — j>^i — P^^ — V^^ — pit-tr-r-r-r-r. Slight variations 

 occur. A common one is an increase or decrease in the number of 

 ^^pits^\ Another, peculiar to a few individuals, is a short tr note 

 at the end of the trill. Other variations of quality and rhythm and 

 slight change in pitch and duration occur. The song is usually 

 given while the bird is hidden within the leafy crown, but it may be 

 given by a bird on a semiopen perch at the top of a bush. It may 

 be given repeatedly from a single perch or as a momentary interrup- 

 tion while a bird is foraging. The singing posture is alert, the 

 head raised, the tail tilted upward. The entire body, especially the 

 throat and tail, vibrates in rhythm with the notes. 



The full song is given throughout the entire year and is charac- 

 teristic of the male. Many times I have identified the member of 

 a marked pair that was singing, and only once was it the female. 

 She gave it a few times while her mate was fighting with a neigh- 

 boring male. From my experience I believe that, except during a 



