14 



ents feeding tlieni, I knew that we would have our hands 

 more than full ; and my expectations were fully realized. 



IVIother Chickadee ought to have been very proud of her 

 children, and undoubtedly she was. They obeyed every 

 command from her, and she called "jump" (in bird lan- 

 guage) just as often as we placed them in position to suit 

 us. If it were possible to obtain a little knowledge of bird 



Fig. 7. A SEXTETTE OF CHICKADEES. 



Try as we would we could not persuade more than six of the 

 dozen to pose for their pictures. 



language, I would give considerable to know just the sounds 

 that mean "keep still." We finally got the pictures we 

 wanted, but we earned them, and surely the little fellows 

 earned the freedom that we allowed them as soon as we had 

 made two exposures. 



