THE OOLOGIST 



117 



The nests are to be found every- 

 where, from the swamp willows with- 

 in a stone's throw of the Pacific to the 

 buckthorn thickets at more than five 

 thousand feet elevation in the moun- 

 tains. Almost every clump of oaks 

 harbors as many pairs as its size will 

 permit, in fact these trees seem to 

 shelter more nests than all other kinds 

 combined. Pepper and sycamore trees 

 are often built in, as are also several 

 varieties of cacti and countless shrubs 

 and bushes. 



As a nest-builder the Bush-Tit 

 stands without a peer in North Ameri- 

 ca. His home is one of the Seven 

 Wonders of the feathered world. Much 

 has been written of these beautiful 

 structures, the weaving of which 

 would seem to be a Herculean if not 

 impossible task to the diminutive ar- 

 tisans. These nests are long, pensile 

 pouches from ten to fifteen inches in 

 length; about two inches in diameter 

 at the neck and four to five inches at 

 tiie bottom. The entrance, a small 

 round opening about the size of a 

 dime, is placed in the side near the 

 top. The materials used are oak blos- 

 some, cowbews, plant down, fine gray 

 mosses, grasses, fibres, and feathers. 

 Sometimes the outside is covered with 

 small gray and brown lichens. To 

 give an idea of the amount of material 

 used I may say that more than three 

 hundred tiny feathers have been count- 

 ed from one nest. About ten days is 

 spent in the building, and so well are 

 they constructed that some nests 

 weather the wind and rain of two or 

 tliree winters, although they are used 

 but one season. 



Like the Gnatcatchers our Tit-Bit 

 will sometimes find a spot more to his 

 liking than the one where his half- 

 completed nest is situated and then 

 nothing will do but that he must move 

 to the new location, tearing down the 

 old nest and using its materials for 

 the new. 



The eggs are pure white, in size 

 averaging about .55x.40 inches. From 

 four to nine constitute a set. Twelve 

 days is required for incubation; the 

 young are entirely naked when 

 hatched. 



The birds call to each other almost 

 continuously with a weak lisping note 

 that is difficult to describe in words. 

 Perhaps the well-known "tsit-tsit-tsit" 

 of the Gnatcatcher is more like it 

 than anything else. The male appar- 

 ently has no "courting" song. 



The Bush-Tit ranks as one of the 

 most beneficial birds to the agricul- 

 turist, feeding on small insects, their 

 eggs and larvae, and on several va 

 rieties of harmful tree scale. I have 

 often noted flocks of the birds in the 

 bush to all appearances feeding upon 

 weed seeds, although it is possible 

 they found some insect food there 

 that escaped my notice. 



A more confiding little fellow can- 

 not be found anywhere. 1 have stood 

 many a time so close that 1 could al- 

 most put my hand on them as they fed 

 in the oak boughs, searching over each 

 twig carefully for food, and then drop- 

 ping to the next upside down for all 

 the world like a Chickadee. I have 

 watched their home-building with my 

 face scarcely a yard away from the 

 pretty nest. So familiar and trusting 

 a bird cannot fail to appeal to every 

 lover of the wild things. 



D. I. Shepardson. 

 Los Angeles, Cal. 



Red-Eyed Towhee. 



One of our most interesting birds 

 is the Red-eyed Towhee, always lively 

 and busy, sometimes kicking up as 

 much racket as an old hen in their 

 efforts to find food among the leaves 

 and litter among the underbrush. The 

 nest is nicely hidden among the grass 

 beneath a bush or among the hazel 

 bushes. I never succeeded in finding 



