NUTHATCHES AND TITS 461 
under parts smoky brownish on sides. 
2 . 20 . 
Length: 4.00-4.50, wing 1.95, tail 
Distribution. — Transition zone of the Pacific coast region from Wash¬ 
ington to northern California. 
Nest. — Hung in thickets of ash 
and willow, bulky, purse-shaped, 
with entrance usually on one side 
near top; made of mosses, plant 
fibers, lichens, and feathers. Eggs: 
5 to 9, white, unmarked. 
Food. — Black olive scale and 
other insect food. 
In Golden Gate Park, San Fran¬ 
cisco, while the white-crowned 
and golden-crowned sparrows are 
busy on the lawns, faint notes 
come from the undergrowth, 
which on investigation proves to 
be astir with flocks of diminutive 
bush-tits, though their gray coats 
disguise them so well that unless 
you look sharp the oak leaves 
seem to be merely rustling in the 
wind. When watched carefully 
the little balls of feathers are seen 
to be busily looking for insect eggs quite after the fashion of their 
larger chickadee cousins. Flitting from branch to branch they fly 
up to light upside down on the underside of a bough, and then 
without taking the trouble to turn right side up drop down back¬ 
wards to catch upside down on the tip of another twig, where they 
bend double over the terminal buds looking for food. 
In southern California, where the California bush-tits breed very 
abundantly, their long gray hanging nests are common objects as you 
ride about among the oaks, so common that the birds, which might 
well be overlooked but for their nests, are known familiarly as 
‘hang-birds.’ 
In a nest which came to grief, apparently pulled down by its own 
weight, I counted over three hundred little feathers in addition to 
a mass of fine gray moss and oak blossoms. 
743a. P. m. californicus Ridgw. California Bush-Tit. 
Similar to minimus, but lighter, top of head light brown, contrasting 
more sharply with light gray of back ; under parts light brownish. Length: 
4.00-4.50, wing 1.85-2.10, tail 2.00-2.30. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Transition and Upper Sonoran zones of Cali¬ 
fornia, except along the north coast. 
Food. — Black scale, weevils, caterpillars, cocoons, insect eggs, bark 
lice and large numbers of other injurious insects. 
