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298. WESTERN HOUSE WREN. Troglodytes zedon 
parkmanni. 
Common summer residents of the foothills and mountains. A 
few winter in the coast region. 
299, TULE WREN. Telmatodytes palustris paludicola. 
Rather common residents on tule swamps. 
Family CERTHIDAS. Creepers. 
This is a small family living in the cooler parts of the northern 
hemisphere. They are restless little birds, found in forests, 
where they creep over the trunks of trees, picking insects from the 
crevices of the bark. Scarcely migratory. 
300. SIERRA CREEPER. Certhia familiaris zelotes. 
Infrequent residents of the coniferous forests of the higher 
mountains. 
Family SITTIDA. Nuthatches. 
A small family of wide distribution. The birds are small, 
active, expert climbers, running over the trunks and limbs of trees 
frequently head downward (which no other birds do habitually), 
searching the crevices in the bark for insects. They feed to some 
extent on seeds and nuts which they stick in cracks in the bark 
and hammer until broken, hence the name ‘‘Nuthatches,” (nut- 
hack). 
301. SLENDER-BILLED NUTHATCH. | Sitta carolinensis 
aculeata. : 
_ Common residents of coniferous forests, coming lower down 
in winter. 
302. PYGMY NUTHATCH. Sitta pygmaea. 
Common residents of coniferous forests. Occasional in the 
foothills in winter. Usually seen in small flocks. 
Family PARIDA. Titmice and Chickadees. 
A rather large family inhabiting the northern hemisphere, 
most abundant in Europe and Asia. They are hardy birds and 
migrate but little. Usually seen in small flocks. 
308. SAN DIEGO TITMOUSE. Beophilus inornatus 
‘murinus. 
Rather common residents of forests in the foothills and moun- 
tains. Not as gregarious as most members of this family. These 
Titmice eat some fruit, mostly fruit left on the trees in fall and 
winter, but they also eat many scale insects. 
304. MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE. Penthestes gambeli 
hailey. 
Rather common residents of coniferous forests, some descend- 
ing to the oaks in winter. 
305. LEAST BUSH-TIT.  Psaltriparus mimimus. 
Common residents of brushy localities from the seacoast to 
the pines. Usually seen in small flocks of half a dozen to a dozen. 
The nest is purse-shaped and large for so very small a bird. 
