PAIUU.K — TIIK TlTMlCi:. 



101 



The eggs, usually five, occasionally eight, in nuniljer, are of a rounded 

 oval siiupe, measuring .GO by .50 of an inch. They have a ])ure duli-wliite 

 ground, and the entire egg is very uniformly and pretty tliickly covered 

 with tine markings and small blotches of red and reddiali-brown inter- 

 mingled with a lew dots of purplish. 



Farus atricapillus, var. occidentalis, Baird. 



WESTEBN CmCKAOEE. 



Pitrnsnccidentdlis, Raikd, Birds N. Am. 1858, 3!)] (W. Territory) : Hfiviow, 81. — Sii.atki!, 

 fatal. 1861, 14, no. 82. — Elliot, lUiist. 1, pi. viii. — CoorKU, Birds' Cal. 1, 4j. 



Si'. Cii.vu. Tarsi leiifrtliciifd. Tail <rniduato(l ; ontor ilsitlior about .25 of an incli siiorter 

 than the middle. Above dark browni.-ih-ash ; iiead and neek al)ove uiul below black sepa- 

 rated on the sides by white; beneath lifrjit, dirty, rusty yellowish-brown, scarcely whiter 

 along the middle of body. Tail and wings not quite so much edged with whitish as in P. 

 afn'rapillus. Length about 4.7") ; wing, 2.40; tail, 2.40. 



IIaii. Northwest coast region of the United States. 



This race is of the same size as P. atrkapillus, and resembles it in its 

 markings ; the ashy of the back is, however, washed with a dtirker shiido 

 of yellowish-l)rown. The brown of tlie under parts is so much darker as to 

 cause tlie predominant color there to be a pale yellowish-brown, instead 

 of brownish-white. The fourtli quill is longest; the fifth and sixth a little 

 siiorter than tlie third ; tlie second is about as h)ng as the secondaries. The 

 tail IS rounded, rather more so than in most atrkcqnllas, the diffei-ence in the 

 lengths of the feathers amounting to about .25 of an inch. The amount 

 of light margining to the quills and tail-feathers is much as in atricamllus, 

 but rather less, perhaps, on the tail. 



This seems to be the Pacific coast representative of the P. atrimpiUii^ 

 as septcntnomt/is belongs to the middle region, corresponding in its di«er- 

 ences witii otiier Western representatives of Plistern species. 



Habits. Dr. Cooper, in his Birds of Washington Territory, says of 

 this variety: "The common Black-capped Chickadee, so abundant in the 

 Eastern States, is, in Washington Territory, represented by the Western 

 litmouse, freipienting the low thickets and trees, where it is always busilv 

 employed seeking food." He observed its nest near Puget Sound, burrowed 

 in soft lytten wood. Dr. Suckley found it quite abundant in the valley of 

 the Willamette, and also at Fort Vancouver during winter. In habits it 

 closely resembles the Black-Cap of the Eastern States. 



It is chieHy found in Oregon and Washington Territory, visitin- the 

 iwrthern part of California in winter, when it is also abundant nea"r the 

 Columbia Biver. At this season it is generally found among the deciduous 

 trees along streams and oak groves, seeking its food among the branches. 

 It feeds oil seeds and insects, and is very fond of fresh meat, fat, and crumbs 



