iS88.] Merrill on Birds of Fort Klamath, Oregon, 3 3 



were very numerous, was accompanied by two or three Creepers. In 

 April they gradually became less common, many apparently going with the 

 Nuthatches into the mountains. Several pairs bred in the immediate 

 vicinity of the Fort, however, and during the winter I found several of 

 their characteristic nests, hidden by loosened scales of bark, usually on 

 pines but once or twice on aspens. On June 6 I noticed a pair feeding 

 fledged young ; one of the latter was at the entrance of aWoodpecker's hole 

 in a pine tree about sixty feet from the ground, and was frequently visited 

 by the parents with food. It is probable that in this cavity the brood passed 

 the night, for I hardly think that the nest was in it, and the other young 

 birds were in the surrounding pines. On the same day another pair were 

 seen several times to pass under a large scale of bark on a dead pine at a 

 height of about fifty feet; their nest was doubtless there, but it was inac- 

 cessible. 



[The characters by which it has been proposed to separate the Creeper 

 of the Pacific Coast region, under the name occidentah's, are strongly and 

 uniformly presented by the series of eighteen specimens taken by Dr 

 Merrill at Fort Klamath. Indeed, as Mr. Ridgway has asserted in rein- 

 stating the subspecies in the Manual (pp- 557, 55S), occidentalis '' d\Sev& 

 quite as much from the typical (Eastern) bird as does the Mexican form, to 

 which it cannot be referred." — W. B.] 



Sitta carolinensis aculeata. — Common during winter, but breeding more 

 commonly in the higher mountains than about the Fort. 



Sitta canadensis. — About as common as 6". aculeata. 



Sitta pygmaea. — Very common during winter, the majority going higher 

 up the mountains to breed, but to no great distance, and at all seasons 

 it is more abundant near the Fort than either of the other Nuthatches. 

 Dr. Coues, in his ' Birds of the Colorado Valley,' says that the iris of 

 this species is black; in all the specimens I have examined the iris was 

 brown. Here, as in other parts of the West, its habits are quite unlike those 

 oi aculeata and canadensis, a dozen or more being generally found together, 

 noisy, restless, and actively searching for food near the extremities of pine 

 and fir branches, often picking oft" insects while fluttering and poised in 

 the air. 



Parus gambeli. — Perhaps the most common resident species at Fort 

 Klamath, and in winter seldom out of sight or hearing. No form of either 

 rufescens or atricafillus was obtained, though carefully searched for. 

 The Mountain Chickadee has all the habits of its allies, with perhaps a 

 greater variety of notes. During the winter its hoarse dee-dee is the most 

 common, but as spring approaches this is less frequently heard, being 

 partially replaced by a variety of others. The most characteristic spring 

 note, which is occasionally heard throughout the year, is pe-wee, as 

 clear, soft and beautiful as that of the Wood Pewee, and which it much 

 resembles. Early in April they begin to separate in pairs, but small flocks 

 may be seen until May. As the nesting habits and eggs of this Tit are 

 not very well known, I will describe the five nests that I found. The 

 females usually sit very close, and when disturbed keep up a constant hiss- 



