52 Land Birds of New England 



birds. A favorite winter amusement is to drop 

 from a tree into the soft snow: 



Flying low, 

 Prints his small impress in the snow. 



EMERSON. 



The nest is usually made in a post or tree, either 

 in a cavity which has been found or in one made 

 by the little parents themselves. Eggs are laid the 

 last of May. 



The commonest song is that which has given 

 them their name ; it resembles the syllables chick- 

 a-dee-dee-dee. Besides this, there is another heard 

 usually in the warmer days of winter and in spring. 

 It consists of two sweet, clear notes of equal length, 

 the second a fifth lower than the first, and sounds 

 somewhat like the word phcebe. It is often mis- 

 taken for the note of the phcebe. 



Thy call in spring, 

 As "'twould accost some frivolous wing, 

 Crying out of the hazel copse, Phe-be ! 

 And in winter, Chic-a-dee-dee ! 



EMERSON. 



The chickadee, according to Bicknell, " has also a 

 short run of low, musically modulated notes, in fact, 

 a short warble."' 



LITERATURE: 



A Rambler's Lease. (Art. "A Bird's-nest Hunter.") BRADFORD 



TORREY. 



