168 Vol. XVI

PECUL1AR DEATH OF CALIFORNIA BUSH-TIT By G. WILLETT XITI-I ONE PHOTO BY ANTONIN JAY N March 28, 1914, accompanied by Mr. Edward Rickerrs of the California Fish and Game Commission, I was walking through a grove of scrub oak trees near Live Oak, Sutter County, California, when, about eight Fig. 49. NEST OF THE CALIFORNIA BUSH-TITi REMAINS OF ONE OF THE BUILDERS APPEAIS AT LEFT OF ENTRANCE, WHERE IT HAD PROBABLY BECOME ENTANGLED IN THE WOOL CHIEFLY COMPOSING THE NEST. feet up in a young live-oak near the bank of a small stream, I noticed a nest of the ('alifornia Bush-Tit (Psaltrparus minimu.s californicus). ] was at once struck by the fact that the nest was an unusually handsome one even for this bird, which is well known for the artistic construction of its home. On ap- proaching closer I saw that the nest, which was compactly and uniformly built, was well coated on the outside with white wool, probably gathered from nearby bushes where sheep had been grazing.