296 LAND BIRDS 
Only nine days are required to hatch the small eggs, 
and the naked nestlings squirm and wriggle like so 
many pink mice in the cosy nest. They are slow in 
feathering, not being fully covered until fifteen days old, 
and even then the down shows through the feathers 
in hair-like patches. According to the best of my ob- 
servations with a powerful field glass, they are fed by 
regurgitation until four days old. After that a visible 
supply of insect food is given them. ‘Their first journey 
from home is a creeping about on the bark of the nest 
tree, to which they cling desperately, aided by their 
sharp little tails. Instinctively they pick at every crevice 
in the bark, and soon become so business-like about it 
that they are quite independent of the adults and of 
each other. 
742. PALLID WREN-TIT. — Chamea fasciata. 
Famity: The Nuthatches and Tits. 
Length: About 6.00-6.50. 
Adults: Upper parts gray, washed with olive on rump and tail; tail 
long ; under parts fawn-color, indistinctly streaked with dusky. 
Geographical Distribution: California, from Shasta County southward to 
San Diego. 
California Breeding Range: Upper Sonoran zone, west of the Sierra 
' Nevada, except humid coast belt, from San Diego northward to lower 
McCloud River. 
Breeding Season: Apriland May. 
Nest: In thickets or low bushes ; compactly made of twigs, bark strips, 
and grasses ; lined with feathers and cow hair. 
Eggs: 2to 5; uniform turquoise blue. Size 0.73 X 0.56. 
Some California birds, such as the phainopepla, wren- 
tit, and others, are like the California big trees, — sua 
