THE CHICKADEE OR BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE 



Titmouse Family — Paridce 



Length: About 51/4 inches. 



General Appearance: A very active little gray and white bird, 

 with a black cap and throat and dull yellowish sides. 



Male and Female: Head and throat a glistening black; sides 

 of head white; bill small, black, sharp-pointed; back 

 a soft brownish-gray; wings and tail gray, edged 

 with white; breast white, becoming yellowish at the 

 sides below the wings. 



Song: Chick-a-dee-dee-dee, uttered with gurgles and chuckles, 

 and with variations. 



Call-notes: Day -day, and a whistle that resembles the word 

 Pe-ivhee. The latter note is often called the "Phoebe 

 note," and sometimes the "Pewee note." To me it 

 resembles neither; it is not hoarse and wheezing like 

 the phcebe's, nor plaintive like the pewee's. The 

 last syllable has a descending inflection. 



Flight: Very swift and jerky. 



Habitat: Woodlands, orchards, and groves. 



Range: Eastern North America, from the Hudson Bay region 

 and N. F., south to central Missouri, Illinois, north- 

 ern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, northern Now 

 Jersey, and in the Alleghany Mts. to North Carolina; 

 somewhat farther south in winter. 



The CAROLINA CHICKADEE, a smaller species, breeds 

 from central Missouri, Indiana, central Ohio, Penn- 

 sylvania (infrequently), and central New Jersey, 

 south to southeastern Louisiana, the Gulf Coast and 

 northern Florida. In southern Florida, are found 

 the FLORIDA CHICKADEES, that are still smaller and 

 browner. 



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