78 HUDSONIAN CHICKADEE. 



and of the smaller of the two species of Mei'gus, of which the 

 females are so nearly alike, and the one known as serrator, the red 

 breasted Merganser, so common in these parts ; I found here the 

 savanna sparrow {Passerailus savanna) abundant and breeding 

 and also saw numbers of that familiar little hero of the north, the 

 Hudsonian chickadee {Partis hudsonicus) , so very abundant here. 

 As this is a peculiarly characteristic bird of this region, a few words 

 may be said of it. I found the Hudsonian titmouse residing all 

 the year around both on the islands and on the mainland where- 

 ever I went during my stay on the coast, and their cheerful presence 

 has dee-dee-dee'ed away the blues more than once. I first met 

 them at Old Fort island in the summer, when they would frequently 

 come and perch on the roof of the house, and occasionally fly in 

 at the door and pick up crumbs from the floor. They were very 

 tame, and would allow you even to catch them without much 

 opposition on their part. The people of the coast are very fond 

 of them, and will not allow a stranger to hurt one of them if they can 

 possibly help it. While flying they will often dart about from place 

 to place, or if it be in the air in one direction or another, with a 

 quick, whirring sort of flight which reminded one more of the 

 operation of quickly half opening one of our closed fans and imme- 

 diately shutting it again. They fly only a short distance except when 

 rather high in the air when their smallness soon aids them in escap- 

 ing detection as they fly ; at such times their flight is swift. When 

 on the island their favorite resting place was the roof of the house, 

 and we would often see several perched near each other on the 

 ridge-pole, where they would remain a long time or until frightened 

 away. Low, stunted fir growths about the island almost always 

 contained several of these birds, who would play at a veritable hide 

 and seek among the dense clumps of fir and spruce everywhere 

 abundant. If any one pretended to watch them they would hide, 

 and not even chirping remain for nearly half an hour quite still, 

 or if stirring at all doing so so cautiously as not to attract the least 

 attention, while often I would walk about quietly trying my best to 

 get a sight at them and yet unable to do so. At other times the 



