244 THE TUFTED TITMOUSE. 
like character of the Wren's song. ‘The latter bird is very apt to answer this 
cry with his ‘“Richeliew” note, as tho he were challenged to utterance. If one 
is accustomed only to these clear whistled calls, it comes as a great surprise 
when the ‘Titmouse bursts 
out with a  Chick-a-dee, 
Chick-a-dee-dee, almost pre- 
cisely like that of his black- 
capped cousin. 
Under date of March 31st 
IT find: “The neighboring 
woods are haunted, and have 
been for a week or more past, 
by a love-lorn Titmouse who 
repeats Peto, peto, peto, peto 
with rapid enunciation and 
wearisome iteration. The 
bird utters this cry in groups, 
as above, on an average of 
about thirteen times a min- 
ute, and keeps it up all day 
long. During these days he 
ranges high in the trees, but 
stops only ten or fifteen sec- 
onds in a place,—about long 
enough to repeat his burden 
four or five times. Then 
comes a hiatus of a few sec- 
onds, during which time he 
is flitting to another perch. 
At a casual glance it looks 
as tho Mary Ann had retired 
to the depths of some unknown knot-hole to escape this silly chap, and we 
heartily wish that we might follow suit.” 
Taken near Columbus. Photo by the Author. 
“AN INCONSPICUOUS KNOT-HOLE.” 
A PAIR OF TITMICE NESTED HERE DURING THE SEASON OF 10903. 
