244 



THE TUFTED TITMOUSE. 



like character of the \Yren's song. The latter bird is very apt to answer this 

 cry with his "Richelieu" 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 3ist 

 I 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 

 conies a hiatus of a few sec- 

 onds, during which time he 



{s fl{ tt j ng to another perch. 



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." 



