2«o THE MOUNTAIN Cll K-K.\l«i;. 



I'l' IS ciiliiT accitkiit or tla- iiictlnKlical lial)it uf scrutinizing every 

 passing hinl which first reveals tu yon the Mountain Chickaiiec. He is (juite 

 similar in general appearance and ct»iuluct tu the foregoing species, altlio the 

 white superciliary line iloes confer a little air of distinction when you liK>k 

 closely. His notes, so far as observed, are not ditTerent ; and he exhibits 

 the cheerful confiding nature which makes the name of Chickadee beloved. 



Uaiiilhli is a bird of the foothills as well as of the mountains, and is 

 confined almost exclusively to the FCasl-side. I have not seen it tm Pugel 

 Sounil : but a ilead bird was once brought by one of the school children to 

 Miss A. L. Pollock, of Seattle. 



Both of the nests which have come umler my observation have lx>cn 

 placed in decayed slumps not above three feel from the ground. One, in 

 a wild cherry stub in northern Okanogan County, contained fresh eggs on 

 the itith day of May. Their color had been pure white, but they were much 

 soiled thru contact with the miscellaneous slutT which made uj) the lining 

 of the cavity: moss, cow-hair, rabbits' wool, wild ducks" down, hawks" casts, 

 etc. The birds were not es])ecially solicitous, altho once the female llew 

 almost in my face as I was ]>reparing the eggs for the cabinet. Ami then 

 she sat quietly for several minutes on a twig not above a foot front my eyes. 



On Senator Turner"s grounds in Spokane — by jjermission — we came 

 upon ;i nest fill of well-grown young, on the 5lh of June, 1906. The nest was 

 two feet up in a slump, concealed liy a clumj) of second-growth maples, pic- 

 tures(|uely nestled at the base of a volcanic knob. l']>"" '""sl discovery the 

 parent birds both ai)i)eared with bills full of lar\;e. and scolded <lainlily. 

 I'inally, after several feints, one entered the nesting hole and fed, with our 

 eyes not two feet removed. Pholograpby was im|K»ssil)le because of the 

 sulxlued ligiit, but it was an unfailing source of interest to see the busy 

 parents hurrying to and fro and bringing incredible (luanlities of provisions 

 in the shape of moths' eggs, spiders, wood-lwiring grubs. an<l winged creatures 

 of a hundred sorts. ICvidently the gardener knew what he was alniut in 

 sheltering these un])aid assistants. Why. when it comes to horticulture, 

 three ])airs of Chickadees are e(|ual to one Scotchman any day. 



The young were fully lledged. and the irrejiressible of the flock (there 

 is alwavs an irre])ressil)le ) spent a good deal of time at the entrance shifting 

 u|>on his toes, ami wishing he tiared venture out. The old birds fed incess- 

 antly, usually alighting upon the bark at one side i>f the hole and debating 

 for a moment before plunging into the wooden cavern, whence issueil a 

 chorus of childish entreaties. 



The next morning our Chickadees h.id all llown. and upon breaking into 

 the abandoned home we found a nest chamber some six inches in diameter, 

 with its original warm lining mingled with fallen piuik and trodden into an 

 indistinguishable mass by the restless feet of the chick Chickadees. .\ s|)ecial 



