WINGED ROBBERS AND NEST-BUILDERS. 1 57 



There is a little titmouse (^Psaltriparus minimus) 

 that plays on its lute in the woods along the Pacific 

 coast, and may M'ell be classed among the Refined 

 Builders. It is a skillful artist, and its nest-making 

 habits are quite different from those of its relatives 

 who inhabit the woods and orchards of the Eastern 

 States. It employs its beak as a shuttle rather 

 than a chisel. The house is very large for the 

 size of the bird, and in general outline resembles a 

 sack eight or nine inches in length and three in 

 diameter, suspended from the fork of some lower 

 branch. The exterior is ornamented with tinseled 

 spangles of moss and lichens nicely interwoven 

 with fibrous roots. The cavity, six inches long 

 and half an inch wide, is softly and thickly quilted 

 with willow down and feathers, a fitting receptacle 

 for the delicate, pearly shells that imprison the 

 embryo minstrels. 



The titmice are prolific layers, and this species, 

 the smallest of the family, is not an exception to 

 the rule; oftentimes as many as nine eggs are 

 found in one of these decorated bags. Like all 

 members of this group they are social, convivial 

 little bodies, and, as if trusting in man and other 

 oologists, appear to take no pains in concealing 

 their large and conspicuous nests. 



