326 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Young. — Dr. Samuel S. Dickey (MS.) writes: "Before the set of 

 eggs is complete, or when they are fresh, the parent, as is the habit of 

 our wild ducks, covers the eggs with the lining of the nest, thus render- 

 ing them comparatively safe. I have found that it requires on an aver- 

 age 12 days for the eggs to hatch. When the nestlings are about three 

 days old they agitate their heads, wing stumps, and legs and open their 

 beaks and squeak feebly in anticipation of food. They remain in the nest 

 for approximately 16 days. At this age the nestlings, about to be 

 fledglings, look almost like their parents, but a shagginess or somewhat 

 ill-kempt aspect serves to distinguish them. They are without doubt 

 among the handsomest young birds of our mountain forests." He adds 

 that the male feeds the female during incubation and that both parents 

 feed the young. 



Dr. Wilbur K. Butts (1931), in a study made in the State of New 

 York of the dispersal of young banded chickadees, found that as a rule 

 the birds wandered only a short distance, a mile or two, from the nest 

 during the first few months of their lives. 



George J. Wallace (1941) concluded, from his study of color-banded 

 chickadees at Lenox, Mass., "that young chickadees, though obviously in 

 company with their parents in late summer, tend to wander away from 

 the more sedentary adults in the fall," and that "the Sanctuary flocks 

 were not made up of family groups in winter." 



Plumages. — [Author's note: The "pale mouse gray" natal down 

 of the young chickadee is soon replaced by the juvenal plumage, or 

 rather pushed out on the tips of these feathers, and wears away. The 

 juvenal contour plumage closely resembles the spring plumage of the 

 adult, but it is softer, looser, and fluffier ; the black of the crown, chin, 

 and throat is much duller ; the sides of the head below the eyes are 

 pure white; and the under parts are dull white, washed on the sides 

 and crissum with pale pinkish buff. 



About midsummer a partial postjuvenal molt takes place, involving 

 the contour plumage and the wing coverts, but not the rest of the wings 

 or the tail. This produces a first winter plumage, which is practically 

 indistinguishable from the fall plumage of the adult. 



Adults have one complete postnuptial molt in July and August, 

 which produces a winter plumage tb.at is more richly colored than the 

 worn and faded plumage seen during spring and summer; the gray of 

 the bacjc and rump is more decidedly buffy ; the sides and flanks are deep 

 brownish buff in strong contrast with the white of the abdomen ; and 

 the whitish edgings of the larger wing coverts, secondaries, and outer 

 tail feathers are broader. 



Wear and fading produces a paler plumage in spring, the buffy tints 



