84 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



of it disappeared completely and presumably must have been killed, 

 thougli this was only definitely known to be true in 1 of IT cases. 



Nesting. — The nest is placed in one of the bushes that make up the 

 chaparral home of the species. It is usually not in a continuous dense 

 mass of brush, but at its margin where a rock outcrop, less in height 

 than the brush, or a trail or clearing makes a break ; or if the chaparral 

 is sparse the nest may be in any small bushy plant. I have found nests 

 in coyotebush {BacchaHs pilularis), artemisia, hazelnut, stick mon- 

 keyflower, and poison oak. Mailliard (1902) and A. H. Miller (MS.) 

 have found them in live oaks, and Kay (1909) in an alder. In chapar- 

 ral where other plants dominate, other shrubs are used. 



From the nature of the habitat, the height of the nest above ground 

 usually cannot be great and averages 18 to 24 inches. The lowest that 

 I found was 12 inches, the highest 42 inches. The nests in trees men- 

 tioned above were 12 and 15 feet up. 



Support, both under and at the sides of the nest, is usually found in 

 a group of horizontal or vertical twigs built into or lashed to the nest. 

 Occasionally a crotch of larger limbs is used. The nest is placed so 

 that leafy twigs screen it from view on all sides. 



The nest, a compact cup, is built by both members of the pair. It 

 is begun by stretching a cobweb network between the twigs that are 

 to form the support. Then coarse bark fibers are introduced, spar- 

 ingly at first, until a saucerlike platform from y2 inch to 1^/^ inches 

 thick and about 4 inches in diameter is formed. Fine bark strips are 

 then placed on the outer rim until a deep cup is formed. Throughout 

 the construction of the platform and cup, masses of cobweb are 

 stretched over and interwoven with the bark fiber to bind it together 

 and hold it in place. Cobweb is also stretched over the rim until it 

 becomes smooth and firm. Finally a lining of fine round fibers is 

 inserted in the cup, and tiny bits of lichen may be, though are not 

 always, fastened to the outside. The type of bark used depends 

 largely on the type of brush nearby. I have seen them strip bark 

 from the dead or weathered branches of old-man sage, lupine, snow- 

 berry, thimbleberry, ninebark, baccharis or coyotebush, cow parsnip, 

 and elderberry. The lining was often taken from the outer coat 

 of the bulb of the soap plant, but fine grasses or hair are also used. 

 Abandoned nests are a common source of material for later nests. The 

 diificulty of finding nests makes the case uncertain, but I believe only 

 one nest is worked on at a time, though a nest may be left incomplete 

 and another begun. 



The nest, though it may be the center of the birds activity for up- 

 ward of a month, is not necessarily near the center of the territory. 

 Of 47 nests that I observed, 60 percent were near the margin rather 

 than the center. Successive nests of the same year or succeeding years 



