224 ^•''d - Lore 



slowly slipped my finger under her and gently raised her up. In the picture 

 here shown, the bird is not more than half way down in her nest, and is doubt- 

 less standing on her feet. 



About their nest, as indeed everywhere else, the Chickadees are ideal. 

 While the female broods her eggs, the male feeds her. Once I saw him come 

 only to the door without offering to enter. She was soon up at the inside of 

 the door. He then flew away with the food, but she hurried out and into the 

 tree-top after him with a rollicking scolding, whereupon he said he was only 

 joking, and gave her the food. Sometimes, instead of coming to the door with 

 food, the male would come into the branches of the tree and call. She would 

 then come out to him, and receive the food with that delightful fluttering of 

 wings which is characteristic of young birds. 



A seemingly pleasing diversion for my Chickadees was their attacks on 

 a cock Wren that had taken up his abode in my Wren house, not ten feet away, 

 on the stump of an old plum tree. Ordinarily they seemed not to care for the 

 Wren, but they would not stand his bluster, nor admit that he owned the 

 yard. It was delightful to see them dart after him, sometimes one and some- 

 times both together. Until he secured a mate, the Wren did not offer battle 

 at all. He was too busy singing. After a specially severe onslaught by the 

 Chickadees, he could be heard singing from the middle of my woodpile, where 

 he had taken refuge; but when the male Chickadee had gone for food, and 

 the female was again quietly brooding her eggs, he took special delight in 

 singing a blood-curdHng war song from the branch just above the door to the 

 Chickadee home. When the male Chickadee returned, he again took to the 

 woodpile, nothing daunted. In due time the Wren was joined by a mate, and 

 the two pairs became accustomed to each other and lived in comparative 

 peace, though their nests were only ten feet apart. 



Upon opening the Chickadee's nest on May 17, six young were found, 

 possibly a day old. Now housekeeping began for my favorites in earnest. 

 Both parents fed the young, although quite frequently the male brought 

 worms to the little mother and allowed her to do the most of the feeding. 

 Coming into the branches of the tree, he would call with the phcebe note. 

 She would then come out to him, receive the worm, and return with it to her 

 babes. If she delayed her coming, he would fly to the door of the nest, where 

 she would meet him and take the worm. At other times when she came out 

 to him, he would dart past her and into the nest, to feed the young himself, 

 as though not quite satisfied that she should have all the pleasure and he all 

 the work. 



On May 21, when the young Chickadees were about three days old, one of 

 the old birds disappeared — I think the male — and all the feeding had to be 

 done by one bird. Imagine the task! With watch in hand, I saw the Uttle 

 mother bring food eight times in fifteen minutes; then twenty-one times in an 

 hour. On May 25, the mother acted strangely, going to the door without 



