The Wren-Tits 
of that such species as do not require especial agility in capture,—spiders, 
caterpillars, ants, the smaller wasps taken at their nests, and, notably, 
the scale insects. Besides these, the bird has for a staple, available 
seven months in the year, the seeds of poison oak (Rhus diversiloba). 
The bird, of course, is immune to the fancied injuries caused by this 
plant, and there is no denying that the Wren-Tit is an active agent in its 
dissemination. (The author happens, also, to be immune, but he will 
never forget the shriek of dismay with which a lady fled from a store in 
Berkeley upon learning that a modest boutonniere of autumn leaves 
carried by the birdman was poison oak! Sic semper hysterics!) 
826 
