402 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



to talk, then the titmouse arrives, evidently curious at a stranger in 

 its habitat. I sometimes hesitate to wonder if such birds do not dis- 

 criminate between the natives and strangers, for they have a sagacity 

 that is hard to fathom." 



Mabel Gillespie (1930) gives them credit for great intelligence and 

 individuality about her banding traps. Slie says that they quickly 

 learned how to find their v.'ay out of the traps, "with no time lost in 

 searching about for the entrance." They repeatedly entered the trap, 

 pcked up some food, and went out again immediately, time after time. 

 She says that she could not c.onfuse them, as she often did other birds. 

 by running toward the trap; for "approaching danger seems only to 

 stimulate their keenness and composure, for they most containedly and 

 successfully seek the exit at the first hint of hazard." She thinks that 

 this ability to find the exit so quickly is due to accuracy of memory, and 

 relates the following incident to illustrate it: "During one night there 

 was a fall of very soft snow, with a succeeding drop in temperature. 

 The traps were all removed but one lest they should become frozen in 

 the ice c.rust. After the freezing the outline of each trap was clearly 

 visible in the crust. A Titmouse was seen to fly to the ground at the 

 spot directly in front of the outlined mark of an entrance funnel. This 

 showed that the bird clearly remembered the location of the funnel. Then, 

 however, just as it was about to run forward, it appeared to realize 

 that the trap was not there. The food was directly in front of the 

 bird with no intervening obstruction. Yet the bird hesitated, looked 

 about, and observed that another trap was in its accustomed place. 

 It fiew to this trap and entered for food." 



The above incident does illustrate accuracy of memory, but it also 

 indicates suspicion of food under unusual conditions, or a sense of 

 security in taking food from traps, based on past experience. 



The tufted titmouse is quick and active in all its movements, flitting 

 upward among the branches or gliding down between them., but it seldom 

 indulges in long flights ; its short flights from tree to tree, or across an 

 open space, are undulating, irregular, much like that of a chickadee, it 

 seems to me; but Dr. Dickey (MS.) calls it "rather precise; the short, 

 rounded wings and well spread tail, with vibrating vanes, press tlie 

 atmosphere." It reminds him somewhat of the flight of the blue jay. 



Voice. — The notes of the tufted titmouse are many and varied, mostly 

 loud and generally pleasing; it is a noisy bird. Aretas A. Saunders has 

 sent me the following excellent notes on the subject : "The loud, whistled 

 call of the tufted titmouse, commonly translated as pefo, peto, is in about 

 the same status as S'^ng as the Hi'^chc ^^-histle of the chi'^kadee. That is. 



