_Parus rufescens_, TOWNSEND, J. A. N. Sc. Phil. VII, II, 1837,
190.—AUD. Orn. Biog. IV, 1838, 371, pl. cccliii.—IB. Birds Am.
1841, 158, pl. cxxix.—BAIRD, Birds N. Am. 1858, 394; Review,
83.—COOPER & SUCKLEY, P. R. R. Rep. XII, II, 1859, 194
(nesting).—SCLATER, Catal. 1861, 14, no. 86.—DALL & BANNISTER
(Alaska).—COOPER, Birds Cal. 1, 47. _Pœcile rufescens_, BONAP.
Consp. 1850, 230.
SP. CHAR. Whole head and neck above, and throat from bill to upper
part of breast, sooty blackish-brown. Sides of head and neck, upper
part of breast, and middle of body, white; back and sides dark
brownish-chestnut. Length, 4.75 inches; wing, 2.36; tail, 2.16.
HAB. Western United States, near Pacific coast.
HABITS. The Chestnut-backed Titmouse was first obtained by Townsend on
the banks of the Columbia River, and described in the Journal of the
Philadelphia Academy. It is a resident, throughout the year, of the
forests of the Columbia, and is found throughout California. Like all
of this familiar family, they may be seen in small flocks, of all
ages, in the autumn and winter, moving briskly about, uttering a
number of feeble querulous notes, after the manner of the
_atricapillus_, but never joining in anything like the quaint and
jingling song of that bird. They occasionally have a confused warbling
chatter. These busy little groups may be often seen in company with
the _Parus occidentalis_ and the _Regulus satrapa_, moving through the
bushes and thickets, carefully collecting insects, their larvæ and
eggs, for a few moments, and then flying off for some other place.
They are supposed to rear their young in the midst of the densest
forests.
Mr. Nuttall states that when the gun thins their ranks the survivors
display surprising courage and solicitude, following their destroyer
with wailing cries, entreating for their companions.
Dr. Gambel found the young of this species in great abundance around
Monterey in the fall and winter months. Dr. Heermann saw them in June,
1852, feeding their young in the vicinity of San Francisco, where,
however, they are rare.
In Washington Territory, Dr. Cooper found this the most abundant
species. It preferred the dense evergreens, where large parties could
be found at all seasons busily seeking food among the leaves and
branches, ascending even to the highest tops. They were usually in
company with the _Reguli_ and the other Titmice. Mr. Bischoff found
them abundant at Sitka.
They nest, like all the others of this genus, in holes in soft decayed
trunks and large limbs of trees a few feet from the ground. Their eggs
are not as yet known.
Parus hudsonicus, FORST.