NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 415 



ground-color, and small spots of chestnut sparsely scattered over the sur- 

 face ; in other specimens the markings are larger and more closely dis- 

 posed over the shell. They can be distinguished at a glance from those 

 of L. bicolor. The spots on the eggs of L. atricristatus are fewer and 

 more scattered than on those of bicolor. Five sets of these eggs are 

 in Mr. Norris' cabinet, all collected in Comal county, Texas. The 

 sizes of the eggs in the set containing the smallest specimens are 

 •67X.53. •65X.52, .66X.52, .65X.52, .68X.53, .66X.52; the largest 

 •74 X .55. -74 X .55> -74 x -54) -73 ^ -55, -71 x .56. 



733. Parus Inornatus Gamb. [38, />izr/.] 



Plain Titmouse. 



Hab. Paci5c coast of the United States, from Southern California to Oregon, 



The Plain or Western Tufted Titmouse is resident along the coast 

 of California. In some localities it is common, and in others, appar- 

 ently as well suited to its mode of living, it is scarce or wanting. The 

 nesting sites are the hollows of limbs, usually in oaks. Mr. Walter E. 

 Bryant, of Oakland, California, found a nest of this species placed in 

 the ventilator of an outbuilding. The shape of the nest conforms to 

 the character of the cavity in which it is built ; this is filled with fine 

 grasses, feathers, cow's hair, rabbit's fur, moss, and almost any soft 

 substance that is available.* Mr. H. R. Taylor, of Alameda, Cal- 

 ifornia, observes that the birds begin to construct their nests as early 

 as March 7, and the selection of a hole well sheltered from the rain is 

 a very necessary precaution. From all accounts the bird is a close 

 sitter ; even when a stick is thrust into the nest cavity it is met with a 

 vigorous resistance ; and the bird, if taken from the nest and tossed 

 into the air, will often return immediately and settle down on the eggs in 

 presence of the collector. Under these circumstances one or more of 

 the eggs are frequently broken or injured by the bird's claws as she is 

 ibeing removed from the nest. 



The eggs are five or eight in number, and may be plain white or 

 ;spotted. Mr. Frank B. Webster has kindly sent me six eggs of this 

 species, showing their extreme variations. Three of these are pure 

 white, unmarked; the fourth is very obscurely marked with reddish 

 specks at the larger end, while the fifth is distinctly speckled over the 

 entire surface with vinaceous cinnamon, but chiefly at the larger end ; 

 the sixth is marked generally over the entire shell. These variations 

 may exist in the eggs of a single set, but usually the specimens in sets 

 are of one type or the other — plain white or speckled. The sizes of 

 the six eggs just described are .68X.49, .69X.53, .71X.51, .72X.54, 



Cf. Henshaw, Bull. Nntt. Ornith. Club, IV, pp. 182-183. 



