If 
THE CHICKADEE 
Tue chickadee, like many other birds, takes 
his name from his notes; from some of his notes, 
that is to say, for he has many others besides his 
best-known chick-a-dee-dee-dee. His most musi- 
cal effort, regarded by many observers as his 
true song, sounds to most ears like the name 
Pheebe, — a clear, sweet whistle of two or three 
notes, with what musical people call a minor in- 
terval between them. It is so strictly a whistle 
that any boy can imitate it well enough to de- 
ceive not only another boy, but the bird himself. 
In late winter and early spring, especially, 
when the chickadee is in a peculiarly cheerful 
frame of mind, it is very easy to draw him out 
by whistling these notes in his hearing. Some- 
times, however, the sound seems to fret or anger 
him, and instead of answering in kind, he will 
fly near the intruder, scolding dee-dee-dee. 
He remains with us both summer and winter, 
and wears the same colors at all seasons. 
