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 84 BULLETIN OF THE COOPER ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. Observations on the Nesting 0f ]artts rt(/?sccns in Washington. BY %%'. H. KOBBF F'. MASON SAN FRANCI.qCO, CAL. [Read hefm'e the Northern Divisiotx ot the Cooper Orn. Club, Sept. 2, 899, rTHE geographical distribution of [the Chestnut-backed Chickade, e as lgiven by I)avie is "Oregon, ,'ash- ington, British Columbia and Southern Alaska." This is very true, but the center of abundance is in Washington State, where I observed this chickadee's habits, for the most part on Cape Dis- appointment. This cape is at the mouth of the Columbia River and ex- tends about one mile into the ocean. It is very hilly and is covered for the most part by thick fir forests and the surface is also overgrown with a Iuxuriant growth of underbrush which is almost impenetrable. This seems to be the fa- vorite country for this chickadee. During my stay on the Cape I found the chickadees to be very common the year round, but especially so during the rainy winters, when large flocks of them could be seen scrambling about on the branches of the dripping firs in search of insects. They were often ac- companied by flocks of the Oregon Chickadee ( larts atr/calSi/lus occidenta/t' ) with whom they seemed to be on very good terms. [ have also seen flocks of the Golden-crowned Kinglet in the same tree with the Chestnut-backed Chickadees, but cannot say that they mingle as freely as with the Oregon Chickadees. Parus rtQrescens also seemed to prefer the more (>pen woods along roads and trails to the dark recesses of the fir for- ests, and their peculiar lisping notes sound quite loud when heard in such places in the stilIness of a drizzling day. Their notes are something like lhe-the- the-le-te pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the teeth. They gener- ally keep this Iisping up while feeding and I think x-cry Iikely that it is a call note, because [ have noticed that some- tinms a single bird will fly into a tree and when it utters these notes the whole flock follows singly--one bird flying to the tree at a time. [ have seen large flocks traveI the whole Iength of about thirty fir trees in this manner. During the summer of '98 I hunted diligently for their nests and was re- warded by finding one on May 20. On that day while hunting along the sides of a hilly canon I saw a smalI bird fly- ing high over my head and, foliowing it with my eye, saw it cross to tlqe other side and enter, or, as I saw it, fly against a small black spot on a Iarge dead stub. Upon further exanfination this spot proved to be a smalI hollow in the tree, which xvas five feet in diam- eter and twenty-five feet high. After watching awhile the bitd came out and [ was delighted to see that it was a Chestnut-backed Chickadee. She did not seem to mind my presence and af- ter a few minutes re-entered the hole. This she did five or six tinms during the next hair hour and I was at a loss to know whether she was building a nest or feeding her young, but as I could see nothing in her biI1 I deter- nilned to dig the nest out. This was no easy matter because of the size of the gtub, but with the help of my two brothers [ was finaIly hoisted up to the opening which was twenty- one feet from the ground and one inch in diameter. When I reached the height of the cavity both parents showed a good deal of anxiety and were very nervous--hopI)ing from branch to branch in near-by trees and keeping up their lisping/c-/e-/e. The hollow extended directly downward and a partition of wood about three- quarters of an inch thick separated it from the outer air. This had to he broken through very carefully, since, if the cavity contained eggs, any chips falling in would break them. The nest was finally reached, however, six inches below the opening and contained seven perfectly fresh eggs which were white, minutely spotted with reddish specks, with the exception of one egg, which was pure white. They showed the foI- Iowing measurements: .62x.45, .6x.4- 62x.45-.6ox.4t-.59x.42-.6x42 and .6ox .42 inches. The mass of hair, etc., in the hollow