TITMICE 



211 



litlli- irick to frighten them away. Presently I 

 lieard a taint explosion at the hottnni of the 

 eavit). when the peeping girl jerked her head 

 quiekly back, with the exclamation, ' \\ hy, it spit 

 at me ! ' The trick of this bird on such occasions 

 is apparently to draw in its breath till its form 

 perceptibly swells, and then gi\e forth a ipiick, 

 explosive sound, like an escaping jet of steam. 

 One involuntarily closes his eyes and jerks back 

 his head." {Far and Near.) 



Like the Nuthatches and a few other birds, the 

 Chickadee doesn't seem in the least to mind being 

 upside down, ^^'hile searching for insects and 

 larvje he is frequently seen clinging to a twig in 

 a completely reversed position, in which he 

 seems to be entirely at case, lie also often 

 alights on the side of a jjcrpendicular limb, or 

 tnnik of a tree, after the manner i.if the W'ootl- 

 peckers, in order to search the crevices of the 

 bark for insects. But he does not attempt to 

 climb up or down as the Woodpeckers and Nut- 

 hatches so readily do ; and it is noticeable 

 that his position is usually at an angle with the 

 [jerpendicular, this in consequence of his not 

 having either feet or a tail adapted for climbing. 

 George Gladden. 



Examination of 289 stomachs of this Chicka- 

 dee shows that its food consists of 68 per cent, 

 animal matter (insects) and 32 per cent, vege- 

 table matter. The former is made up of small 

 caterpillars and moths and their eggs. Prominent 

 among the latter are the eggs of the tent-cater- 

 pillar moths, both the orchard and forest species. 

 As these are two of our most destructive in- 

 sects, the good done by the Chickadee in de- 

 vouring their eggs needs no comment. During 

 the winter the Chickadee's food is made up of 

 larvae, chrysalids, and eggs of moths, varied b\' 

 a few seeds ; but as spring brings out h(jrdes of 

 flying, crawling, and jumjiing insects, the bird 

 varies its diet liy taking al o some of these. 

 Among the luigs may be mentioned the ]ilant lice 

 and their eggs, which are eaten in winter. The 

 beetles taken nearly all belong to the group of 

 snout beetles, more commonly known as weevils, 

 and nearly all are known to the farmer or fruit 

 raiser as pests ; the plum curculio and the cntton- 

 holl weevil may be taken as f.aii- examples. 

 .■-Spiders constitute an important element of the 

 food and are eaten at all times of the ve.ar. the 

 birds locating them when they arc hibernating in 

 winter as well as w'hen they are active in summer. 

 The vegetable food of the Chickadee consists 

 largely of small seeds, excejjt in summer, when 

 they are re])laced by pulp of wild fruit. 



In western North America are three variant 



forms of the Common Chickadee. The Lung- 

 tailed Chickadee { I't'iitlu-xU-s atrii-apilliis scptcn- 

 trioiialis) breeds from .\laska. central Mac- 

 kenzie, and southwestern Keewatni south to New 

 Mexico and eastern Kansas and from eastern 

 ( >regon east to western Minnesota and western 

 Iowa. In winter it is found south as far as 

 central Texas. It is larger than the Eastern 

 Chickadee and its plum,-ige is jialer, with the 

 white edgings on the wing and tail-feathers 

 liroader and more conspicuous. 



Photo by Hamet ti. Rider Courtesy of iNcit. Asio. Aud. Sui'. 

 THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS TREE 

 Receives a visit from a Chickadee 



The Oregon Chickadee { Peiilhcstrs atricu /villus 

 occideiitalis) is smaller and darker than the 

 eastern Chickadee, its back varving in color 

 from deep mouse-gray to deep hair-brown or 

 light olive, and the wlnte edgmgs of tail and 

 wing feathers more restricted. It is found in 

 the Pacific coast district from the Columbia 

 River to Piritish Columliia. 



The ^'ukon Chickadee { Pciithcstrs atricapillns 

 tiinicn) is found in .\laska, north and west of 

 Cook Inlet. It most resembles the Long-tailed 

 Chickadee. It is slightly smaller, with coloration 



