i8 Bird Studies. 



The Carolina Chickadee is a bird very closely related to the Chickadee 

 and is its Southern prototype, occupying the region from middle New Jersey 

 and Illinois south. It is a much smaller bird, rarely ex- 

 Carolina Chickadee. cee( jj ng r f our anc [ a half inches in length. Its colors are 



Parus carolinensis Aud. 



similar to those of the Chickadee, but the edging of 

 white to the wing and tail feathers is less marked and there are no white 

 edges to the larger feathers of the shotdders. 



The nesting habits and eggs are similar to those of the Chickadee ; the 

 song is weaker and more broken. Though seen about houses, this is decid- 

 edly more of a wood bird. The food is almost entirely of insects. 



The Hudsonian Chickadee is another close ally of the " Blackcap," 

 being its more hardy relation of the North. It is also similar in general ap- 

 pearance, but the top of the head is scat brown, suffused 

 Hudsonian with gray instead of black. The ash of the back has a 



r* t j o j 



distinctly brown tin^e. The winp;s and tail are pray, 



Parus hudsomcus Forst. J fc> o fc> J ' 



rather than ash. The throat is black. The sides of the 

 head and neck, the breast and belly, are white. The sides of the body are 

 chestnut brown. 



Its nesting habits, eggs, and general economy are very like those of the 

 " Blackcap," but its notes are quite different. It is found from Northern 

 New England and Michigan northward. 



A shower of music, a burst of melody, a thrill of ecstasy, this is the 

 song of the House Wren. You will hear it about New York during the 



third week in April, and from that time on till late July it 

 neiii. is continuous. The musician is a small, alert, inquisitive, 



and aggressive bird. His home for the summer is care- 

 fully chosen, and when once selected is defended from every intrusion. It 

 may be a cranny in an outbuilding, a hollow in an old apple tree, a bird box, 

 or a crevice or knothole in a fence rail, or some nook or corner, perhaps on 

 your very porch itself. The nest is of twigs, grasses, and feathers, completely 

 filling the hollow, and entailing more or less labor, on the part of its small 

 occupant, corresponding to the size of the interior. From five to eight pink- 

 ish brown eggs are laid, sometimes unmarked, but frequently finely specked 



