NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 413 



weeks are required to complete the excavation. Mr. George Noble in- 

 forms me that he found a nest of this species in the cavity of a stump 

 in a pond. It was two feet from the surface of the water. Mr. C. S. 

 Brimley found eggs of this species near Raleigh, North Carolina, in 

 the month of April. Mr. Wayne says that the birds dig several holes 

 before a satisfactory one is completed for the nest. The cavity extends 

 downward from eight to twelve inches, and is filled with short pieces 

 of grass, bits of cotton, wool, feathers, and the leaf-like substance of 

 " pine seed leaves." 



The eggs are five or six in number. A series of twenty-four 

 sets in Mr. Norris' cabinet present a varied appearance with re- 

 gard to their coloration, etc. The ground-color varies from white 

 through creamy-white, to a dull white, and the markings are several 

 shades of reddish-brown and lavender-gray. The sizes of the eggs in 

 a set containing the smallest specimens are .57 x 47, .59 x .48, .59 x .48, 

 .57x47, .57x48; the largest, .62x49, .59x47, .64x49, .64x49, .62 

 x 48. The average size is .62 x 49. 



730. Sitta pygmsea VIG. [54-] 



Pigmy Nuthatch* 



Hab. Western United States east to and including the Rocky Mountains; from the northern bound- 

 ary south into mountainous districts of Mexico. 



This diminutive Nuthatch is found throughout Western United 

 States from, the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific. It is abundant, 

 chiefly in pine woods in mountainous districts, nesting like the rest of 

 the genus in holes of trees. Mr. Charles F. Morrison gives it as a 

 common species of L,a Plata county, Colorado, and is resident up to 

 10000 feet ; breeds abundantly, but the nest is hard to find. 



The eggs are from six to nine in number. They are crystalline 

 white, speckled more or less thickly with brick-red, varying in inten- 

 sity in different specimens. The sizes of the eggs in a set containing 

 the smallest specimens, from a series of nine sets in Mr. Norris' collec- 

 tion, are .51x46, .51x46, .55x45, .53x45, .51x46, .52x46, .53 x 

 46, .52x44, .53x45; the largest: .63 x 47, .61 x 45, .59x48, .64 x 

 49, .63 x 47, .63 x 48, .60 x 48, .63 x 48. 



731. Parus bicolor LINN. [ 36.] 



Tufted Titmouse. 



Hab. Eastern United States to the Great Plains, chiefly south of 40; south to the Gulf Coast, in- 

 cluding Florida and Central Texas. 



The Tufted Titmouse is an abundant resident in Eastern United 

 States, as far west as Eastern Kansas, and, chiefly however, south of 

 40. Its clear, loud whistling song may occasionally be heard in sunny 

 days through the winter months, but particularly in the early spring 



