PARID.E — THE TITMICE. 99 



their penetrating' lull, and no c^ga so wuU liiililcu tiiat they cannot find thoni 

 out. I ha\ o known one to attack anil tly oil' with the chrysalis of a " Woolly- 

 bear" or salt-marsh caterjiillar [Lcucnixtia acra'a). When thus foraging for 

 their food tliey seem totally uncouscious of the near presence of man, and 

 unmindful of what is passing around them, so intent are tliey upon the 

 object of their pursuit. 



The notes of tlie Chickadee exhibit a great variety of sounds and combi- 

 nations. As they roam through the country in small flocks in quest of food, 

 their refrain is a continued and lively succession of varying notes sounding 

 like a quaint chant. When annoyed by any intrusion, their cry is louder 

 and harsher. Tliey are rarely" thus disturbed by the presence of man, and 

 even when tlieir nest is approached by him they present only a passive and 

 silent resistance. Not so when a cat or a S([uirrel is observed in unwelcome 

 vicinity. These are pursued with great and noisy pertinacity and hoarse 

 cries of dd[i, ddij, ddij, in which they are often joined by others of the same 

 species. 



So far as we have observed them, they are apparently affectionate, gentle, 

 and loving to each other. We utterly discredit the accusation that they 

 will treacherously beat out the brains of feeble birds of their own race. It 

 is unsupported by testimony, and in tlie instance cited by Wilson he gives 

 no evidence that this injury may not have been done by some other species, 

 and not by one of its own kindred. 



Their nest is usually near the ground, and the number of eggs rarely 

 if ever exceeds eight. They are said to liave two broods in the season, 

 but this statement seems to be contradicted by their continued presence 

 after June in small flocks, evidently the parents and their first and only 

 brood, who apparently remain togetlier nine or ten months. 



The eggs of this species vary somewhat in regard to the distribution and 

 number of the reddish-brown markings with which their white ground is 

 more or less sprinkled. In some they are chiefly gathered in a ring about 

 the larger end ; in others they are distributed over the entire egg. Their 

 eggs are smaller and a little less spherical in shape than those of the acptcii- 

 Irioiialis, averaging .58 by .47 of an inch. 



Parus atricapillus, \ar. septentrionalis, ITvuris. 



LONG-TAILED CHICKADEE. 



Parus septcntrioimlis, IIahris, Pr. A. N. Sc. II, 1S43, 300. — C.\ssiN, lUu.st. I, 1853, 17, 

 80, 1)1. xiv. — BaiuI), Biiils N. Am. 1858, 389 ; Review, 79. — Sul.vtki!, Catal. 1861, 

 14, no. 82. Parus septentrionalis, var. albescens, Baikii, Bird.s N. Am. 1858, x.v.^cvii. 

 ? Parm alriaipillus. Pi:. JIax. Cab. Jour. VI, 1858, 119. 



Sp. CnAU. Length about ."j.rjO inches; win?, 2.70; tail al)out ^ inches. Heafl above 

 and below black, separated by wliite nn the .sides oC the head ; back browni.sh-asli. Be- 



