THE CHICKADEE 



59 



quence and crushed to death by more fortunate 

 members of the brood. Nor was their physical con- 

 dition the only surprising thing about the members 

 of this Chickadee family: each individual was as 

 clean as though he had been reared in a nest alone, 

 and an examination of the nest showed that it would 

 have been passed as perfect by the most scrupulous 

 sanitary inspector. It was composed of firmly pad- 

 ded rabbit's fur, and, except for the sheaths worn 



30. A Chickadee family. 



off the growing feathers of the young birds, was 

 absolutely clean. Later, I observed that the excreta 

 of the young were inclosed in membranous sacs, 

 which enabled the parents to readily remove them 

 from the nest. 



The last bird having been placed in the net, I at- 

 tempted to pose them in a row on the perch before 

 their door. The task reminded me of almost forgot- 



