104 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



and the reddish -brown blotches with which they are profusely covered are 

 much more distinctly marked. They are of a spheroidal oval in shape, 

 have a pure white ground, very uniformly and generally sprinkled with 

 blotches of a reddisli-brown. They measure .60 by .50 of an inch. 



Parus rufescens, Towns. 



CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE. 



Parus rufescens, Tovvnsend, J. A. N. Sc. Pliil. VII, ii, 1837, 190. — Aud. Orn. Biog. IV, 

 1838, 371, pi. cccliii. — Ib. Birds Am. 1841, 158, pi. cxxix. — Baird, Birds N. Am. 

 1858, 394; Review, 83. — Cooper & Suckley, P. R. R. Rep. XII, ii, 1859, 194 

 (nesting). — Sclater, Catal. 186], 14, no. 86. — Dall & Bannister (Alaska). — 

 Cooper, Birds Cal. I, 47. Fcecilc rufescens, Boxap. Consp. 1850, 230. 



Sp. Char. Whole head and neck above, and throat from bill to upper part of breast, 

 sooty bl^pkish-brown. Sides of head and neck, upper part of breast, and middle of body, 

 v\-hite ; back and sides dark brownish-chestnut. Length. 4.75 inches; wing, 2.36; tail, 

 2.1G. 



Hab. Western United States, near Pacific coast. 



Habits. The Chestnut-ljacked Titmouse was first obtained by Townsend 

 on the banks of the Colund)ia Eiver, and descril)ed in the Journal of the 

 I'hiladelphia Academy. It is a resident, throughout the year, of tlie forests 

 of the Columl)ia, and is I'ound throughout California. Like all of this 

 familiar family, they may be seen in small fiocks, of all ages, in the autumn 

 and winter, moving briskly about, uttering a number of feeble querulous notes, 

 after the manner of the atrieapillas, but never joining in anything like the 

 quaint and jingling song of that bird. Tliey occasionally have a confused 

 warbling chatter. These l^usy little groups may be often seen in company 

 v'ith the Parus occidentcdis and the Regidus satrapa, moving through the 

 bushes and thickets, carefully collecting insects, their larvae and eggs, for a 

 few moments, and tlien flying off for some other place. They are supposed 

 to rear their young in the midst of the densest forests. 



Mr. Nuttall states that when the gun thins their ranks the survivors dis- 

 play surjjrising courage and solicitude, following their destroyer with wailing 

 cries, entreating for tlieir companions. 



Dr. Gambel found the young of this species in great abundance around 

 Monterey in the fall and winter months. Dr. Heermann saw them in June, 

 1852, feeding their young in the vicinity of San Francisco, where, liowever, 

 they are rare. 



In Washington Territory, Dr. Cooper found this tlie most abundant si-)ecies. 

 It preferred the dense evergreens, where large parties could be found at all 

 seasons busily seeking food among the leaves and branches, ascending even 

 to the highest tops. They were usually in company with the Reguli and 

 the other Titmice. Mr. Bischoff found them abundant at Sitka. 



