VERMONT BIRD CLUB " 25 



not that his disposition is by any means angeHc for the 

 chickadee has enough of what we are accustomed to call 

 human nature to keep him from becoming tiresome. It re- 

 quires a good sized table to accommodate two chickadees at 

 the same time and my hand is the scene of many a spirited 

 encounter till the question of precedence is finally settled. 



I do not know of a bird that seems better able to take 

 care of itself than this same alert little chickadee. Nothing 

 seems to escape his bright little eyes and if I place food in 

 an unaccustomed place I feel sure that it will not be long 

 before the chickadee will discover it although it may take 

 days for the woodpecker and nuthatch to find it out.' 



Of course different individuals vary greatly in intelli- 

 gence. A chickadee that I have recently tamed proves to 

 be a bird of unsual intelligence. It very soon learned 

 that it could call me out by coming to the back of a chair 

 that stands in front of the kitchen window. This it proba- 

 bly learned from another bird which has that habit, but in- 

 stead of fluttering before the glass as the other bird does to 

 attract attention it adopted the habit of clinging to the 

 sash and if that does not succeed it sometimes taps on the 

 glass. It soon learned to try the sitting room window 

 when it found no one in the kitchen. It comes so often that 

 it has really got to be quite a serious hindrance to any work. 

 It will cling to the sash or tap on the glass till I speak or 

 rise when it immediately flies to the kitchen window and 

 watches there till I appear; then it usually flies down out 

 the door mat or on the edge of the chair so as to be ready 

 the minute I open the door. I have great difficulty in keep- 

 mg it out of the house, indeed it often gets in in spite of 

 me. 



A summer bird table although not as necessary is I 

 think quite as interesting as a mnter table. The song 

 sparrow chipping sparrow, oriole, catbird and others are 

 usually glad of a little assistance while they are rearing the 

 young and as they often bring the young birds to the table 

 as soon as they are able to fly, it gives one a good opportuni- 

 ty to observe the family life. The song and chipping spar- 

 row are both very easily tamed. I have had both these 

 birds take food from my hand and I am sure if they remain" 

 ed with us during the winter they would be quite as tame 

 as the chickadees. 



Besides my regular boarders I have many transients 

 that stop off a few days or perhaps a week or two on their 

 way north or south. These strangers are always doubly 



