ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE BIRD. 935 
have never seen it thus in my yard. But the titmouse 
and chickadee come so often together, without the 
others, that I found the boys had the impression that 
the titmouse with the crest was the male and the black 
cap was his wife. I had to resort to the books to con- 
vince them otherwise, my ornithological prestige not 
being sufficient. 
One late winter and early spring I was awakened 
every morning by what Thoreau calls the “ fee-bee” 
eall of the black-capped chickadee. It came about 
the same time of the clock from a limb not ten feet 
from my bed. The tones are noted for their purity— 
a clear, sweet sol mz of the vocal scale—the first note 
highest. To my ear it seems to be “see bee!” I 
studied this special bird, and learned to know his song 
from others. On my way down the street, if I went 
early, | found him later 
in other back yards, sing- 
ing like a troubadour for 
his breakfast, announc- 
ing that he had come for 
the contents of last even- 
ing’s crumb pan. 
The tufted titmouse 
also has a spring song 
—that sugary sap-rising 
eall to “ Peter - peter- 
peter” to get about his spiles and sugar troughs. 
He also is fond of the dog scrap in the back yard, 
and steals it off and hides it like a jay sometimes. 
His resemblance to a small blue jay is quite remark- 

Tufted Himionce: (Natural size. ) 
