44 BULLETIN 195, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



apparent but unreal commensalism, since they feed at another table, 

 of such species as the downy and red-cockaded woodpeckers, phoebe, 

 and brown or gray -headed nuthatches." 



Nesting. — "My three nest records," continues Mr. Hebard, were all 

 less than 5 feet from the ground, but John W. Burch considered this 

 unusual, as he has generally found them 4 to 20 feet up. I did see 

 nest-building commencing in a 6-foot-high fence post on February 

 26, 1942, along the May Bluff road in Charlton County. Other records 

 are: 



1. Nest found April 14, 1942, in Camden County in a dead pine stump 4i^ 

 feet higli, with an undetermined number of young. 



2. Nest found April 23, 1942, in Charlton County in a charred pine stump 3 feet 

 high, with young almost ready to fly. The nest hole was so deep that the nest 

 was not over 20 inches from the ground. Wben examined on May 13, 1942, the 

 nest was empty except for great numbers of creamy-white pinfeathers. This 

 nest was composed of strips of cypress bark, unmatured pine mast, one or two 

 strands of Spanish moss, and an unidentified wool-like substance that may well 

 have been an insect nest. 



3. Nest found April 12, 1942, in Camden County, containing one egg about 

 a foot down the top of a 4-foot pine fence post. From May 13 to 16, this nest 

 contained three well-grown young whose mouths were always open when observed. 

 On July 1, this nest was found covered by an incompleted bluebird nest. 



It is extremely interesting to compare this with what has been 

 written about the same race 40 or 50 miles away (Grimes, 1932) : "A 

 brown (-gray) -head was noted working on a newly started nest hole 

 in a pine stump on February 20. Others were found from time to 

 time, the two latest probably being second-brood nests — one May 16 

 with four large young, the other May 18, with an undetermined num- 

 ber of nearly fledged young." 



SITTA PYGMAEA PYGMAEA Vigors 



PYGMY NUTHATCH 



HABITS 



The type race of the pygmy nuthatch is now restricted to a very 

 narrow range in the Transition Zone of the coast region of California, 

 from San Luis Obispo County to Mendocino County. 



A. J. van Rossem (1929) says that "the color characters distin- 

 guishing ;?2/^maea from meZanoi^w * * * are more brownish pileum 

 and nape, combined with a relatively indistinct ocular streak which is 

 never prominent and in extreme cases so nearly concolor with the head 

 as to be almost indistinguishable." 



Grinnell and Linsdale (1936) say that this subspecies, which was 

 named from specimens collected at Monterey, "is restricted quite 

 closely to the southern portion of the humid coast strip," as mentioned 

 above. They further state : 



