Chickadee SONG-BIRDS. 



Tom-Kelly," but he gives them the name of Peto, from their 

 most characteristic note. 



Chickadee; Black-capped Titmouse: Parus 

 atricapillus. 



PLATE VIII. FIG. 4. 

 Length : 5.50 inches. 

 Male and Female: No crest. Above gray with a brownish tinge. 



Crown and nape, and chin and throat black ; sides of head white. 



Below white, shading to light gray with brown wash. Wings and 



tail gray with white edgings. Bill and feet lead-black. 

 Song : Cheerful, conversational. " Chickadee-dee-dee-dee ! " varied in 



winter with " Day, day, day ! " 

 Season : From late September to May. 

 Breeds : Nearly throughout its range. 

 Nest: Made of all sorts of soft material, wool, fur, feathers, and 



hair, placed in holes in tree stumps. 

 Eggs : 6-8, white, thickly sprinkled with warm brown. 

 Range : Eastern North America, north of the Potomac and Ohio 



Valley. 



This hardy little fellow, always cheery and lovable, is a 

 familiar figure in our light woods and garden trees in 

 autumn and winter, seeming, by his good-nature and energy, 

 to be trying to console us, in a measure, for the loss of the 

 tree-haunting summer Warblers. 



The Chickadee adapts himself to all surroundings and to 

 all circumstances, suiting his appetite to what he can find, 

 when insects fail, taking kindly to seeds, berries, cone- 

 kernels, and crumbs. 



In the winter of 1891-92, when the cold was severe, the 

 snow deep, and the tree trunks often covered with ice, the 

 Chickadees repaired in flocks daily to the kennel of my old 

 dog Colin and fed from his dish, hopping over his back and 

 calling " Chickadee, dee, dee," in his face, proceedings that 

 he never in the least resented, but seemed rather to enjoy. 



Taking a hint from this, I made a compound of finely 

 minced meat, waste canary seed, buckwheat, and cracked 

 oats, which was scattered in a sheltered spot from which 

 the snow had been swept. This bird-hash was rapidly con- 



72 



