The Wren-Tits 
Brewster’s Gnatcatcher, after its gifted and very deserving describer. 
Mr. Robert S. Woods, who has studied this species with some partic¬ 
ularity near Azusa, finds' that the birds are very local in their range, 
and a given pair is usually confined to a space of two or three acres. 
They seem not to care for water at all, either for drinking or bathing, 
being therefore very literally dependent upon “bug juice.” Nesting is the 
absorbing business of springtime, and no sooner is one brood successfully 
reared than another is attempted. The male bird takes the lead in nest 
construction, and performs his fair share of the duties of incubation as 
well. Insect food is gleaned assiduously from the surface of the desert 
plants, and only rarely does the bird attempt such excursions into the air 
as would justify the name Gnatcatcher. The black cap of the male bird is 
featured in spring and summer only. About the middle of February black 
patches appear upon the crown and quickly spread over the entire top of 
the head. The autumnal change takes place much more slowly, and con¬ 
sists of a gradual obscuring and replacing of glossy black by gray. The 
first signs of gray can be detected by the middle of July, but it requires ap¬ 
proximately six weeks for all traces of the darker color, with the exception 
of a permanent blackish streak over the eye, to disappear. 
No. 160 
Wren-Tit 
A. O. U. No. 742 and No. 742c. Chamaea fasciata fasciata (Gambel). 
Synonym.— Intermediate Wren-Tit. 
Description.— Adult in spring and summer: Plumage loose in texture, especially 
below; head and neck, above and on sides, dark grayish brown or seal-brown, varied by 
faintly darker centers; remaining upperparts lighter, more ochrey-brown (mummy- 
brown) (flight-feathers and tail a little darker and grayer), shading upon sides to light 
wood-brown of under plumage; the breast vaguely streaked with darker; middle of belly 
and chin lighter, more buffy. Bill and feet brownish horn; iris whitish. Adult in fall 
and winter: Plumage softer and color more blended. Young birds are duller, with 
plumage still looser in texture, and color of head shading into that of back. Length 
about 153.7 (6.50); wing 60 (2.36); tail 80 (3.15); bill 11.5 (.45); tarsus 25.4 (1.00). 
Remarks.—While there is a pretty steady deepening of color from south to north 
(along the coast, but not necessarily in the interior), throughout the range of this species, 
it seems unwise to try to recognize four divisions, as Ridgway has done. The characters 
separating C. f. fasciata and C.f. ruf ula Ridgway are neither well marked nor geograph¬ 
ically constant, and are, therefore, merged herewith under the name fasciata. It should 
be remembered, however, that an arbitrary subdivision could be established anywhere 
between henshawi and fasciata in the southern coast ranges, or between fasciata and 
phcea in Mendocino and Humboldt counties. 
1 Condor, Vol. XXIII., Nov., 1921, p. 173. 
