TITMICE 



213 



ACADIAN CHICKADEE 

 Penthestes hudsonicus littoralis ( //. Bryant) 



A II. l\ Xumljer r-ioa M-c I olor TKite lo! 



General Description. — Length. 5'.. inches. Upper 

 parts, brown : under parts, black, white, and reddish. 

 No crest ; bill, shorter tlian head ; wings, long and 

 rounded ; tail, shorter than wing, slightly rounded. 



Color. — Crown and hindneck. plain, soft i/rayish- 

 brown : back, shoulders, lesser wing-coverts, rump, and 

 upper tail-coverts, brim'ii : wings and tail, dull slate 

 color with slate-gray edgings : mouth and eye regions, 

 white, gradually shading into pale gray on ear region 

 and this into clear gray or olive-gray on sides of neck; 

 cheek region, chin, and throat, uniform sooty black; 



under jiarts of liody, white medially, the sides of chest 

 ^llalled with gray, the .uidw and fhinks. cinniiini)>t- 

 hro-Lcn : iris, brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Xf.st : In natural cavities in trees 

 or stumps; constructed of moss and fur. Eggs: 6 or 7. 

 indistinguishable from those of common Chickadee. 



Distribution. — Southeastern British provinces and 

 e.xtrcme northeastern United States. Maine, mountains 

 of New Hampshire, \'ermont, and northeastern New 

 York ; casually or irregularly southward to Massa- 

 cluisetts, Rhode Island and Comiecticut. 



The gray-brown cap, brownish back, and red- 

 dish sides of this little denizen of the northiand, 

 distinguish hint sharply from his essentially 

 black-and-white, livelier, and more ubiquitous 

 cousin, the Common Chickadee, hut in general 

 the manners of the two birds are not markedly 

 dissimilar. Naturally enough, different observers 

 give different renderings of the bird's call notes. 

 One (Wright) speaks of its "sweet warbling 

 song," while another (lirewster) has heard only 

 " low. chattering conversational sounds, a low 

 chip much like that of the Common Chickadee/' 

 and " an abrupt, explosive, tch-tchip, and a nasal 

 drawling tchick. cJicc-day-day." which he thinks 

 is easilv distinguishable from the familiar call 

 of the Common Chickadee. 



The records show a remarkable flight of this 

 bird into the southern New England States in 

 the winter of 1014-15. Why the flight, no one 

 seems to have explained clearly, but it has been 

 conjectured that it may have been due to the 

 injury done bv insects in northern Maine and 

 New Brunswick to the spruce forests which 

 furnish a large part of the bird's normal food 

 stipplv. .^t anv rate, the Acadian Chickadees 

 became comparativelv common that year in east- 

 ern Massachusetts where they do not usually 

 appear in such numbers. They were seen in the 

 company of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Fox 

 Sparrows, and other Chickadees, and it was 

 noticed that they fed freely upon the seeds of the 

 goldenrod and upon the berries of the red cedar ; 

 also that they did not expose themselves much. 



Evidently there was a flight somewhat similar 

 to this in the winter of 1913-14, and of this 

 we have an accoimt in the Atik from a cor- 

 respondent in Watch Hill, R. I., which seems 



worth quoting in part. "As this was the second 

 record of this species in the State." he writes. 

 " anrl there was wh.at niifdit almost he called a 



Courtesy ot Am. Mus Nr 

 ACADIAN CHICKADEE il nat. size) 



flight for a so rare a bird. 1 tried to collect one 

 with a ca[) and golf sticks, but was unsuccessful, 

 succeeding merely in getting very close." 



The Hudsonian Chickadee (Penthestes hitd- 

 soniciis hiidsoiiieiis ) is larger than the Acadian 

 and its upper parts are slightly grayer. It is 

 found in northern North America, breeding 

 from Alaska and the tree-limit in central Mac- 

 kenzie and central Keewatin south to southern 

 British Columbia, central Alberta ( usually 

 Montana), northern Manitoba, central Ontario, 

 and Ungava ; sometimes in the winter it wanders 

 as far south as northern Illinois. 



Another subspecies is the so-called Labrador 

 Brown-capped Chickadee (Penthestes Iiiidsoni- 

 ei(s nit/ricuiis) of which there was an interesting 

 southward flight in the winter of 1916-1", as far 

 as Staten Island, N. Y. 



