284 THE BUSH-TIT. 
an eye appears at the entrance, the bird bristles up and hisses in a very snake- 
like fashion. his is too much for the nerves of a Chipmunk, and we guess 
that the single brood of a Chickadee is not often disturbed 
No. 110. 
BUSH-TIT. 
A. O. U. No. 743. Psaltriparus minimus (Towns.). 
Synonyms.—L «rast Busu-tir. Pucrer Sounp Busu-tir. Pacrric BusH-7T'. 
Description.—4dults: Crown and hindneck warm brown abruptly contrast- 
ing with dull leaden or mouse gray hue of remaining upperparts; wings and tail 
slaty edged with pale gray; sides of head like crown but duller and paler; under- 
parts sordid brownish white deepening into dull drab on sides and flanks. Length 
about 4.00 (101); wing 1.87 (47.5); tail 2.05 (52); bill .26 (6.9); tarsus .62 
(15.8). 
Recognition Marks.—Pygmy size; leaden coloration with brownish cap 
unmistakable. 
Nesting.—Nest: a pendulous pouch from six inches to a foot in length and 
three or four inches in diameter, with small entrance hole in side near top; an 
exquisite fabrication of mosses, plant-down and other soft vegetable substances 
bound together by cobwebs and ornamented externally with lichens, etc., lined 
with plant-down and feathers; placed at moderate heights in bushes, rarely from 
ten to twenty feet up in fir trees. Eggs: 5-8, usually 7, dull white frequently 
discoloring to pale drab during incubation. Av. size .55x.40 (13.9 x 10.2). 
Season: April-July; two or more broods. 
General Range.—Pacific Coast district from Lower California to the Fraser 
River. 
Range in Washington.—Resident west of the Cascades at lower levels, rare 
northerly—perhaps nearly confined to the Puget Sound basin. 
Authorities.—Parus minimus, Townsend, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII. 
1837, 190 (Columbia River). C&S. Ra. Kk. B. E. 
Specimens.—U. of W. Prov. B. 
IT IS an age of specialists. The man who could do anything—after 
a fashion—has given place to the man who can do one thing well. And in 
this we have but followed Nature’s example. The birds are specialists. 
The Loon is a diver; the Cormorant a fisher; the Petrel a mariner, and so 
on until we come to Swallows, who are either masons or mining engineers; 
and to Catbird and Thrush, who are trained musicians. 
The Bush-Tits belong to the builders’ caste. They are specialists in 
domestic architecture. The little birds not only enjoy their task; they have 
nest-building on the brain. A beautiful home is more than meat to them. 
