Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
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Transcription
R Dixon
1951
4.
Parus atricristatus
Feb 25. Juniper Flat, 5600 ft., Chispa Mts., Brewster Co., Texas
I followed the three birds until 10:35 as they crossed a small gully. One bird flew into a scrub oak but did not remain there long. Most of the foraging seemed to be done on branches the diameter of a titmouse body or larger, for on these the bark was in loose plates. Rarely a bird would forage in the leafy terminal branches and once I saw the bird I was watching pick what appeared to be a juniper berry. Only once did I hear a call see see see dee (inornatus-like) and only once did I see a bird hammering at any object held between its feet.
I was sitting on a slope writing notes when I heard a pair and saw two titmice in a juniper to my left as I faced the streamcourse. A flock of 8-10 Bush-tits moved down streamed from that same juniper and I saw titmice in a juniper down stream. All titmice moved what and I think that there (paced) were six present in an area 80-90 feet long. They foraged in the junipers and called mostly such-dit-such-dit-such-dit.
I watched one titmouse about 10:55 in an oak to the west of a clearing. It flew to a lone juniper 40 feet E in the center of the clearing and into the same branch where another tit was foraging. I did not record any notes but the latter immediately flew north 50 feet to a small juniper. Here it foraged and exchanged calls such-dit with another tit across the creek bed. At 10:59 it joined the latter.
There was little activity for next 15 minutes, occasional notes such-dit such-dit to N and S of the clearing.