Tufted Titmouse. 237 



ing and soft wood. The downy woodpecker is perhaps 

 its best friend in the matter of fitting up the cavity in 

 harder wood. On a foundation of dried leaves and moss, 

 the nest is made of moss and vegetable fibers, and it is 

 lined with soft fibers and cowhairs. A complement of 

 eggs consists of five to eight. They have a ground of 

 pure white or creamy white, and are speckled with shades 

 of reddish-brown. They average .74 by .54 of an inch. 



After the parental cares are over and the young have 

 left the nest and become self-supporting, these birds 

 resume their roving life, indicating their presence by their 

 noisy calls and their notes similar to the chatter of the 

 real chickadee. They are fearless little rovers, and do 

 not hesitate to enter the parts of the woods appropriated 

 by the larger hawks. I have seen them flitting and chat- 

 tering in a large tree in whose top several youug red- 

 tailed hawks were receiving their final lessons in domestic 

 economy from their elders. The little merry-makers 

 seemed not the least disturbed by the proximity of the 

 larger birds. Indeed, they had little ground for fears, for 

 these larger buzzard-hawks are notably good-natured, and 

 rarely or never molest the smaller birds of the forest, 

 where they find the food they ordinarily desire. 



The titmice do not fly far in their restless movements, 

 but flutter from one part of a tree to another. They are 

 somewhat dignified in their deportment, and are easy and 

 graceful, except when they are attempting to reach any 

 morsel of food not easily accessible. They frequently 

 gather acorns in the winter, and it is interesting to watch 

 an individual secure the contents. It will hold the acorn 

 firmly against its perch with its feet and peck it lustily 

 with its stout, sharp bill, until it has cracked or broken 

 the hard crust; then still holding the fractured acorn as 

 before, it will separate the broken parts with its bill and 

 eat them with relish. It treats large insects and cater- 

 pillars in the same way, using its slender feet in a manner 

 quite foreign to the ordinary ways of the smaller birds. 



