296 LAND BIRDS 



Only nine days are required to hatch the small eggs, 

 and the naked nestlings squirm and wriggle like so 

 many pink mice in the cosy nest. They are slow in 

 feathering, not being fully covered until fifteen days old, 

 and even then the down shows through the feathers 

 in hair-like patches. According to the best of my ob- 

 servations with a powerful field glass, they are fed by 

 regurgitation until four days old. After that a visible 

 supply of insect food is given them. Their first journey 

 from home is a creeping about on the bark of the nest 

 tree, to which they cling desperately, aided by their 

 sharp little tails. Instinctively they pick at every crevice 

 in the bark, and soon become so business-like about it 

 that they are quite independent of the adults and of 

 each other. 



742. PALLID MVREN-TlT. — ChamcBafascicaa. 



Family : The Nuthatches and Tits. 



Length: About 6.00-6.50. 



Adults: Upper parts gray, washed witli olive on rump and tail; tail 



long ; under parts fawn-color, indistinctly streaked with dusky. 

 Geographical Distribution : California, from Shasta County southward to 



San Diego. 

 California Breeding Range : Upper Sonoran zone, west of the Sierra 



Nevada, except humid coast belt, from San Diego northward to lower 



McGloud River. 

 Breeding Season : April and May. 

 Nest: In thickets or low bushes ; compactly made of twigs, bark strips, 



and grasses ; lined with feathers and cow hair. 

 Eggs: 2 to 5 ; uniform turquoise blue. Size 0.73 X 0.56. 



Some California birds, such as the phainopepla, wren- 

 tit, and others, are like the California big trees, — sui 



