It kind of sounds like a bushtit to me.

Rahne
rahne at mindspring.com
Federal Way
----- Original Message -----
From: <WPCTWBUG at aol.com>
To: <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Cc: <WPCTWBUG at aol.com>
Sent: Friday, June 04, 1999 1:18 PM
Subject: Bird identification


> Tweeters,
> I need some ideas in an effort to I.D. a bird I saw yesterday. I was
> hiking a timbered area next to a wetland near Renton and observed a bird
> carrying a large insect. I watched it for a moment and it flew to a nest
at
> the top of a 8' tall shrub. I won't get back to the area until the young
> fledge and I want to collect the nest as part of a research project, but
I'd
> like an idea of species I.D.
> The bird was tiny, chickadee sized or smaller, with no visible crest.
> It was a non-descript dull grey color and it's nest was a tiny open cup
like
> flycatchers make. It seemed to have a relatively long tail which wagged a
> lot. It resembled a gnatcatcher in shape and proportion, but my bird book
> indicates this area is outside their range. Any ideas?
>
> Terry Whitworth, Ph.D.
> Entomologist
>