-U 



THE TUFTED TITMOUSE. 



like character of tlie Wren's song. The latter bird is very apt to answer this 

 cry with his "Richelieu" note, as tlio he were challenged to utterance. If one 

 is accustomed only to these clear whistled calls, it comes as a great surprise 



when the Titmouse bursts 

 out with a Chick-a-dee, 

 Chick-a-dee-dee, almost pre- 

 cisely like that of his black- 

 capped cousin. 



Under date of March 31st 

 I find: "The neighboring 



\\ Is are haunted, and have 



been for a week or more past. 

 by a love-lorn Titmouse who 

 repeats Peto, peto, peto, pet,' 

 with rapid enunciation and 

 wearisome iteration. The 

 bird utters this cry in gn nips, 

 as above, on an average of 

 about thirteen times a min- 

 ute, and keeps it up all day 

 long. I )uring these days he 

 ranges high in the trees, but 

 stops only ten or fifteen sec- 

 onds in a place, — about long 

 n/M enough to repeat his burden 

 four or five times. Then 

 comes a hiatus of a few sec- 

 onds, during which time he 

 is flitting to another perch. 

 At a casual glance it looks 

 as tho Mary Ann had retired 

 to the depths of some unknown knot-hole to escape this silly chap, and we 

 heartily wish that we might follow suit." 



INCONSPICfors KNOT-HOLE." 



