NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



and measure .60 by .50. The largest species of this genus in America, 

 distributed between the Mississippi Valley and the Rocky Mountains, to 

 the British Provinces, This bird nests in decayed stumps, hollow trees, 

 branches, logs, etc. The nest is composed of the fur and hair of small 

 animals, feathers and fine mosses. The excavation is from ten to eighteen 



inrhps in denth Hab. Region of Missouri River to Rocky Mountains. 



42. Carolina Chickadee — parus carolinensis. Pure white, uniformly 

 sprinkled with blotches of reddish-brown, spheroidal in form. The eggs 

 are slightly larger than those of the Black-capped Chickadee and are from 

 five to eight in number, and measure .60 by . 50. This bird like the Black- 

 cap breeds in holes of trees; those previously dug out by the Downy 

 Woodpecker are often used ; sometimes it is excavated by the bird, gener- 

 ally in a decaying stump. The nest is composed of fine dry grasses, 

 feathers, hair and fur of the smaller quadrupeds. This bird is also called 

 Southern Chickadee. 



Hab. South Atlantic and Gulf region of U. S. north to Washington D. C, Texas and the Mississippi 

 Valley; north to Central Illinois. 



45. Hudsonian Chickadee — parus hudsonicus. White, sparingly 

 marked with reddish-brown spots, usually forming a ring around the 

 larger end; rounded oval in shape, six to ten in number, and measure 

 from .60 by .50 to .65 by .55. The nest is placed in holes of 

 trees, sometimes not higher than a few feet from the ground, again 

 well up in tall trees. The excavations are about three inches in width and 

 from seven to twelve in depth. The nest is composed of feathers and fur. 

 Brown-capped Chickadee is another name for this bird. Breeds from 

 Northern New England northward. 



Hab. Northern portions of North America, from Atlantic to Pacific. 



47. Least Tit — psaltriparus minimus. Pure white; five to nine;. 5 5 

 by .43. This interesting little bird is abundant throughout the Pacific 

 coast from Fort Stelilacoon to Fort Tejon. It is exceedingly abundant in 

 the Rocky Mountains and throughout California. The nest shown in 

 Plate II is a truthful representation of a typical specimen collected near 

 Santa Paula, California, by Dr. S. P. Guiberson, April 11, 1885. It was 

 suspended from the fork of a small twig of a live oak, eight feet from the 

 ground. The nest is six inches long from the opening, and nests of this 

 species often measure nine and ten. This purse-shaped domicile is made 

 of grasses, a few feathers, moss, lint of plants; and some small burrs 

 make up the external appearance. It is warmly lined with the cottony 

 down of willows and feathers. 



48. Lead-Colored Tit — psaltriparus plumheus. The following in 



