THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY 23 
song, too. It is slow, sad-sounding, and of two 
notes, almost like the common cry of the pheebe. 
But you must not think they have no more than 
these few notes. They have odd little songs, 
and they make queer sounds that seem much like 
talking. Almost all birds have many notes and 
calls and little chatty noises of different sorts, 
besides their regular song and the common call 
note. To hear these, and learn to know a bird 
whatever he says, is one of the deliglits of bird 
study. I hope you will some day enjoy it. The 
Chippewa Indians named the chickadee “ kitch- 
kitch-ga-ne-shi.” 
A chickadee is a friendly little fellow. Many 
times one has come down on to a man’s hand 
or knee. Mr. Torrey once found a pair making 
their nest, and he climbed up on to a branch of 
the tree, close by where they were working, so as 
to watch them. Many birds would have been 
frightened to have a man so near, but not the 
brave little chickadees. They stared at him a 
little, but went right on with their building. 
These birds, though so tiny, are among the 
most useful to us, because they spy out and de- 
stroy the insect eggs hidden in crevices of bark, 
or under leaves. Bigger birds might not care to 
pick up such small things, or their beaks might 
be too clumsy to get at them. 
