THE CHICKADEES 



comes back he chases the chickadee through 

 the trees around the dooryard. The chick- 

 adee is too quick for the sparrow; he darts 

 this way and that, laughing and shouting 

 at the top of his voice. The other chickadees 

 do a lot of laughing and shouting too, at the 

 same time they attend to the seed-box. The 

 sparrow always flies away when he hears the 

 danger-call. I suppose he thinks it better 

 to be safe than to be sorry. 



Several years ago I placed a box in the 

 top of an oak-tree, thinking that bluebirds 

 might be induced to nest therein. While I 

 was nailing the box to a limb, a pair of chick- 

 adees had overlooked the work. These chick- 

 adees were old friends, and naturally thought 

 that I was making a nest for their benefit. 

 The next day when I had returned from the 

 city, I found the birds engaged in carrying 

 cotton batting into the box. These chick- 

 adees were old and had made four nests, 

 so the selection of a box and cotton batting 

 was a marked departure from the regular 

 nesting habit. While the little lady was sit- 

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