Howell, T.R. 1950 S. Varius ssp. 29 mi. S. of Princeton, ft., B.C. May 10 (cont'd) barely audible - then flies off. 8-8:20 - silent. then tattoos begin again. Finally I catch sight of a typical group of nuchalis - 4 birds, then 3, and the same tattoo - get together - squawks - one off - others follow - as has been described before, but here it is in the open slope dead pine and fir country. At 9:15 I heard tattooing on another slope farther south. it went on for a few minutes, then stopped for 15 min. intervals. This went on for an hour. Finally I found a male nuchalis tattooing loudly on a lodge- pole pine (dead). He flew off, and I heard yelps in the near distance, 10:15. (Presumably) this same bird continued to tattoo in this area, often from the same tree, for another half hour, but with no response. At 11:00 I came out on the open slope where I saw ruber yesterday and earlier this morning. I heard a few screams, and a ruber appeared, flying over to a lodge- pole and tattooing at a height of about 15 ft., precisely as the nuchalis do. The woods are full of these dead, leaning, lodge- pole pines (I will call them just l-p's) from which most of the branches are gone, as well as the bark. Little stubs project out an inch or so where the branches were, are these are favored for tattooing. The bird leans