664 



AMERICAN" I'ORI'.S'lin- 



sonian chickadees, of the l'"ar North ami tin- niDii.itains 

 of Northern United States, which come southward in 

 winter irrejJi'ularly, have the toj) of the head brown rather 

 tlian black, and tlie mountain chickadees of the Kockv 



••1\ UNION" THERE IS STRENGTH." MOKK I'OWKK TO 'KM! 



Chickadees and nuthatches are associated in more than name. After the 

 nesting season they assemble in loose companies and make common war 

 uiir)n hibernating insects — and here they are. har<l at it. 



Mountain rejajion have a while stripe over the eye, l)iit 

 all six s])ecies are easily recotjnized by anyone familiar 

 with the conniion chickadee. In fact, the Carolina chick- 

 adee, of the Southern States, is so similar in a])])carance 

 to the commf)n chickadee that it can scarcely be distin- 

 guished from it in tin- lield. The sontjs and call-notes of 

 the difTerent species vary considerably but all have a 

 common likeness. The scolding call of the common 

 species gives the name to the family, for it is a clearh 

 enunciated chick-a-dcc or chick-a-dcc-dcc. In other spe- 

 cies it is less clear, more highly pitched, or more nasal. 

 In addition to this note, the chickadee has a song of two 

 or three sweet whistles resembling the syllal^les phc-bc 

 or phc-bc-bc, so exactly that amateur bird students are 

 often led to believe that it is a ])hoebc calling. Also, as 

 the chickadees troop through the woods, they have a 

 variety of conversational notes rather difficult to de- 

 scribe. When protecting its eggs or young, the chicka- 

 dee utters a hissing or sputtering sound, if disturbed, 

 which is sufficient to discourage any unsophisticated 



squirrel from further investigation of the contents of 

 tin- hole. 



During March and April the flocks break up and pairs 

 of chickadees can be seen prying about decaying stubs 

 or old woodjjecker holes looking for a lilace to build 

 their nests. Even though their small bills do not seem 

 adapted to chiseling, they usually find a stub sufficiently 

 decayed for them to excavate their own cavities. During 

 recent years, however, they have come more and more to 

 accept bird houses such as those built tor wrens. .A.t the 

 bottom of the cavity they build a warm nest of vegetable 

 libers, moss, plant down, wool. etc.. and lay often as 

 many as nine tiny speckled eggs. What is more remark- 

 able, they often succeed in rearing all nine youngsters. 



In spite of the fact that they begin selecting their 

 nesting site in March or A])ril, the-eggs are not laid uiUil 

 May. but the young are out of the nest early in June, 

 giving them time for another brood, which, however, 

 is usually smaller than the first. 



The chickadees are friendly, inquisitive birds and it is 

 not onlv at the winter feeding stations that thev become 



BRArlOLETS FOR BIRDS 



Aluminum bands, such as this one on the leg of the nuthatch, arc proving 

 that some birds winter in the same snot every year as well as that they 

 return to the same place to nest. Likewise, they have shown that in 

 most places chickadees and nuthatches do not migrate. 



tame. They are always ready to answer an imitation of 

 their phe-hc call and will come flying through the woods 

 to greet the traveler, ])erching on the branches above his 

 head, sometimes even dropping to his shoulder or hover- 



I 



