Jan., 1908 THE TAWNY CREEPER IN WESTERN WASHINGTON 29 pends entirely on the dimensions of the space between the bark and the main trunk of the tree. Sometimes only a scant handful is sufficient, while in one nest the twigs would have filled a quart measure to overflowing. Slender dead fir twigs, from four to eight inches long, are almost invariably used, and this must frequently be a most arduous piece of business. Twigs have to be thrust into the crevice un- til the first dozen or so lodge firmly, then the rest is easy. In every nest quite a little mound of twigs is found on the ground below, showing how persevering the little architects must have been in the face of repeated failure. Probably they con- sider such twigs as unsuitable; at any rate it never seems to occur to them to pick up a twig when once it has fallen. Scattered amongst this net-work of twigs is always a little green moss and a considerable amount of down taken from ferns, willows and cotton-woods. What purpose these serve, beyond ornamentation, must be known only to the birds themselves. On top, and firmly embedded, is the egg cup of the nest, which is composed of a thick felting of fine strips from the inner bark of the cedar, with occasionally a few feathers. The eggs are laid during the first week of May, and are usually five in num- ber, rarely six. In color they are a dull white, plentifully sprinkled with dots of red-brown, most heavily about the larger end. The two sets that I have been fortunate enough to take are a well rounded ovate in shape. In another nest, that was torn down while I was waiting for the bird to complete her set, the broken eggs showed a decided approach to long ovate. My two sets show practically no variation in either size or shape, averaging .47x.58 inches. In spite of the early nesting date it is very much open to doubt if more than one brood is reared in a season. Most of my spare time during the past summer was devoted to studying these birds, yet no evidences of a second nesting could be found anywhere. A curious fatality seems connected with the young of these birds. In the two nests containing young that I have watched, all the occupants died shortly before they were ready to fly. I could not discover any positive cause for thiS, but am in- clined to attribute it to ants with which the trees were infested. In fact it has al- ways see?ned strange to me that more nestlings are not destroyed in this manner. The birds are very shy in the vicinity of their home, excepting after the eggs are hatched. Even when I knew just where it was and posted myself at a consid- erable distance, the most patient watching has never enabled me to see a bird turn to her treasures. Tacoma, Washing?lon. THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHICKADEE By JOSEPH GRINNELL Parus gambeli baileyre Su?s?,?c?Fm CHARACT?Rs.--Similar to Parus gainbell gambe/i, but coloration dorsally and laterally more plumbeous, less brownish, and bill larger. T?'?.-- ? ad.; No. 5516 Coil. J. G.; Mount Wilson, 5500 feet altitude, Sierra San Gabriel, Los Angeles County, California; November 27, 1903; collected by J. Grinnell. COLORA?'?O? OF T?'?.mTop of head and hind neck, including loral region, c. ontinuously black, save for a .pure white superciliary stripe on each side; chin,
