460 NUTHATCHES AND TITS 
long, graduated ; under parts fawn, buffy brown, or pinkish brown, more 
or less obscurely streaked with dusky. Wing : 
2.37, tail 3.41, bill .42. 
Distribution. — Resident in Upper Sonoran 
zone from San Francisco Bay south to north- 
1 ig. 585 . ern L ower California. 
Nest. — In low bushes, made of twigs and straws mixed with feathers. 
Eggs: 3 to 5, plain pale greenish blue. 
One of the most persistent of the pleasant memories of the cha¬ 
parral-covered hills of California is that of the bell-like descending 
keep-keep-keep-keep-keep-it, keep-it, keep-it, of the wremtit. Scale- 
bird he is well called because of it, for while the song has many 
variations it always contains a descending scale. But though his 
voice is continually ringing in your ears the wren-tit is a secretive, 
mysterious bird like the chat, and you may hunt through the cha¬ 
parral full many a merry day before you see him run his scale. 
When you accidentally come face to face with him on his own 
domains, he makes it appear such a casual meeting in a neighbor¬ 
hood in which he has no interest, that the worldly wise observer is 
fairly maddened with curiosity and desire to discover his nest. 
The appearance and mannerisms of the birds stimulate this inter¬ 
est. They are brown, with light yellow eyes, and long tails which 
tilt up and down as they fly, and are often held up as they hunt in a 
wren-like, careful way over the chaparral branches. 
742a. C. f. phsea Osgood. Coast Wren-Tit. 
Upper parts dark brown becoming sooty on head; under parts dark 
ruddy brown , indistinctly streaked with dusky. 
Distribution. — Resident in Transition zone on coast of Oregon and Cali¬ 
fornia from Astoria to Nicasio. 
GENUS PSALTRIPARUS. 
General Characters. — Plumage loose; bill much shorter than head; 
nostrils concealed; wings rounded, shorter than long, graduated tail. 
KEY TO SPECIES. 
1. Top of head brown. 
2. Top of head sooty brown. Pacific coast region, from northern Cali¬ 
fornia to Washington . minimus, p. 460. 
2'. Top of head light brown. California, except northern coast district. 
californicus, p. 461. 
1'. Top of head gray. 
2. Sides of head black. 11 oy di, p. 462. 
2'. Sides of head brown. 
3. Head with blackish streak along side of occiput. 
santaritae, p. 462. 
3'. Head plain bluish gray . plumbeus, p. 462. 
743. Psaltriparus minimus {Towns.). Bush-Tit. 
Top of head sooty brown ; back dark grayish brown or brownish gray; 
