NUTHATCHES AND TITS 



461 



under parts smoky brownish on sides. Length : 4.00-4.50, wing 1.95, tail 

 2.20. 



Distribution. Transition zone of the Pacific coast region from Wash- 

 ington to northern California. 



Nest. Hung in thickets of ash 

 and willow, bulky, purse-shaped, 

 with entrance usually on one side 

 near top; made of mosses, plant 

 fibers, lichens, and feathers. Eggs : 

 5 to 9, white, unmarked. 



.Food. Black olive scale and 

 other insect food. 



In Golden Gate Park, San Fran- 

 cisco, while the white-crowned 

 and golden-crowned sparrows are 

 busy on the lawns, faint notes 

 come from the undergrowth, 

 which on investigation proves to 

 be astir with flocks of diminutive 

 bush-tits, though their gray coats 

 disguise them so w r ell that unless 

 you look sharp the oak leaves 

 seem to be merely rustling in the 

 wind. When watched carefully 

 the little balls of feathers are seen 

 to be busily looking for insect eggs quite after the fashion of their 

 larger chickadee cousins. Flitting from branch to branch they fly 

 up to light upside down on the underside of a bough, and then 

 without taking the trouble to turn right side up drop down back- 

 wards to catch upside down on the tip of another twig, where they 

 bend double over the terminal buds looking for food. 



In southern California, where the California bush-tits breed very 

 abundantly, their long gray hanging nests are common objects as you 

 ride about among the oaks, so common that the birds, which might 

 well be overlooked but for their nests, are known familiarly as 

 'hang-birds.' 



In a nest which came to grief, apparently pulled down by its own 

 weight, I counted over three hundred little feathers in addition to 

 a mass of fine gray moss and oak blossoms. 



743a. P. m. californicus Eidgw. CALIFORNIA BUSH-TIT. 



Similar to minimus, but lighter, top of head light brown, contrasting 

 more sharply with light gray of back ; under parts light brownish. Length : 

 4.00-4.50, wing 1.85-2.10, tail 2.00-2.30. 



Distribution. Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones of Cali- 

 fornia, except along the north coast. 



Food. Black scale, weevils, caterpillars, cocoons, insect eggs, bark 

 lice and large numbers of other injurious insects. 



Fig. 586. 



