The Oregon Chickadee 
banks of the San Jacinto River. We judged there 
were young—on May 23rd, 1913—but the situa¬ 
tion was so remarkable as to demand investiga¬ 
tion. We found a neat, round aperture in the 
earth, which must have been barely large enough 
to admit the bird, being, in fact, so snug that it 
showed two separate “scores” for the feet. This 
opened rapidly into an ample chamber with exten¬ 
sive inner recesses,—a monument of toil. The nest 
proper, a great bed of rabbit-fur, was placed about 
one foot from the entrance, and it contained, or 
tried to contain, six full grown young. Because 
we had been obliged to enlarge the opening, I 
pushed all the little fellows back along 
passage for safety’s sake—all but one 
(there is always a smart Aleck in every 
brood), who insisted upon scrambling 
out over my arm and making a break for 
liberty. He got an awful tumble for his 
pains, but we rescued him, a sadder, etc. 
A MOMENTARY PAUSE 
Taken 
in the 
San Jacinto 
Mountains 
Photo 
by the 
Author 
No. 122 
Oregon Chickadee 
A. 0 . U. No. 735b. Penthestes atricapillus occidentalis (Baird). 
Synonym.— Western Black-capped Chickadee. 
Description. — Adult: Top of head (including eye) and nape shining black; 
throat and chest dead black with whitish skirting posteriorly; a white band on side of 
head and neck, increasing in width behind; “back varying from deep mouse-gray to 
very slight buffy slate-gray in spring and summer to deep hair-brown to light olive in 
fall and winter plumage’’; wings and tail dusky, more or less edged, especially on outer 
webs of tertials, with ashy or whitish; breast and belly white, centrally; sides and 
flanks pale buffy in spring, strong brownish buff or pale wood-brown in fall plumage. 
Bill and feet blackish. Length 114.3-133.3 (4.50-5.25); wing 62 (2.44); tail 56 (2.20); 
bill .95 (.37); tarsus 16.8 (.66). 
Recognition Marks. —Warbler size; black of crown not broken by white, i. e., 
no white stripe over eye, as distinguished from P. gambeli; back gray as distinguished 
from P. rufescens. 
Nesting. — Nest: a heavy mat of moss, grasses, and plant-down, lined with 
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