PARUS HUDSONICUS : HUDSONIAN TITMOUSE. 85 



One of our best pictures of the life of the Chick- 

 adee is given by Mr. H. D. Minot (Birds of New Eng- 

 land, 1877, pp. 59-63). Among other agreeable and 

 interesting facts, the writer instances the manner in 

 which the little Titmouse sleeps. One which had 

 taken possession of a Pewee's nest, which was fastened 

 to the corner pillar of a piazza, " having stared at me 

 for a moment, tucked his head under his wing and ap- 

 parently leaned against the wall. I think that he went 

 to sleep almost immediately, for, on my stepping from 

 the piazza, he started (as if from sleep) and turned tO' 

 look at me ; but he soon composed himself once more 

 to his slumbers." Mr. Minot relates the anecdote to- 

 controvert an assertion he had met with, to the effect 

 that it was ridiculous to suppose that wild birds ever- 

 put their bills under their wings when sleeping. 



HUDSONIAN TITMOUSE. 

 Parus HUDSONICUS Forst. 



Chars. Not crested. Above, pale olive-brown ; below, whitish,, 

 shading into light chestnut-brown on the sides and behind ;. 

 crown browner than back ; throat blackish-brown ; no hoary 

 edgings of wings and tail. Length about 5.00 ; wing, 2.40 ; tail,. 

 2.70 ; bill, 0.30 ; tarsus, 0.62. 



As implied in the name, the Hudsonian Chickadee 

 is a northerly species ; it is resident in northern New 

 England, but of rare or casual occurrence south of the 

 Canadian Fauna, which limits its southward extension 

 in the breeding season. In fact, it seems to be nowhere 

 in New England a very abundant bird, its true home 

 being Canada, Labrador, and the Hudson's Bay region 



