'IHE OREGON CHICKADEE. 



277 



sqiK-ak over the straiii^e (lisoi\ery : the Steller Jay takes notice and sidles over 

 to spy upon tlie performance: wliile the distant-faring Crow swerves from his 

 course and bends an intpiiring eye toward the mystery. Dcc-dcc-dcc says the 

 Black-cap. A luuidrul beaily eyes are bent upon you. trying to resolve vour 

 domino of corduroy or kliaki. Can.' says the Crow in compreliension, and you 

 know that tlie game is up. — up for all but tlie Chickadee. He will .stay and 

 talk with you as long as you may eiidiu'c to pucker \()ur lips to his fairy 

 lispings. 



It is no exaggeration to sa\- that the "Sivec-tcc" note of the Chickadee, 

 passably imitated, is the quickest summons in the bird-world. It is the 

 o])en sesame to all woodland secrets. One drawback, however, attends 

 its use: you cannot comjKiss it when the air is chilly and the li])s thick. 

 Xow, the eastern bird. (P. atricapUlus) has a clear, high-pitched call-note, 

 Stccc-tcc. or Sti'cc-tcc tec i:]^ _^ ~|^ _^-^ which must be taken as 



the type of this genus | ' [ ^ or | l- i — 



ern bird are best un- 



and the calls of the west- 

 derstood by reference to 

 this norm. In the song of occidcittalis the first note of the type, "high C," 

 is oftenest repeated three or four times, and has a double character impossible 

 to represent on 

 ])a])er: while the 

 w hole ends, or 

 not, with the lower 

 note of atricapil- 

 liis. These notes 

 may be called the 

 deo dco dco day 

 series. In rare in- 

 stances they be- 

 come a ravishing 

 trill on high C. be- 

 yond imitation or 

 analysis. 



For the rest. 

 Chickadee's notes 

 fli\ide themselves 

 into squeaks, vocal 

 notes, and whis- 

 1 1 e s. O f the 

 squeaks one is a 

 very liigh-pilclied. 



W II i n i n g note, Ai/.ih m Oregon. puolo by II'. L. Finh-y. 



, 1 • ,1 I 1 U.ADICN' WITH D.AlNTlIiS. 



which closely re- o-econ c.ckadee «c.n n.m. 



