98 NoIiTII AMERICAN BIRDS. 



thes(5 localities, not. only appearing familiarly around the dwellings in the 

 winter season, but also occasionally bleeding in open and exj)Osed jdaces. 

 A hollow ])ost ol' a I'ence in the midst of open cultivated fields, a decayed 

 stump near tlie side of a pultlic highway, a hollow log in a frei^uented farm- 

 yard, and even the side of an inhabited dwelling, are localities these birds 

 have been known to select in which to rear their young. In the winter 

 they not unfre<iuently extend tlieir visits, in search of food, into the very 

 heart of*large and crowded cities, where they seem as much at home iind as 

 free from alarm as in the seclusion of the forest, searching every crack where 

 insect larvie or eggs can be hid. On one occasion a j)air had built its nest 

 over a covered well which connects with the dwelling by a side door, tlirough 

 which water was chawn at all hours of the day by means of buckets and a 

 rope, the wlieel ior which was in close proximity to their nest. Tiiey mani- 

 fested, however, no uneasiness, and even after the young were ready to fly, 

 tlie whole family would return to the ])lace for shelter at night and during 

 inclement weather. 



Their courage and devotion to tlieir young is a remarkable trait with the 

 whole race, and with none more than with the present species. On one 

 occasion a Black-Cap was seen to fly into a rotten stump near the roadside 

 in Brookline. The stump was so much decayed that its top was readily 

 broken off and tlie nest exposed. Tlie mother refused to leave until forcibly 

 taken off by the liaiid, and twice returned to tlie nest when thus removed, 

 and it was only by holding her in tlu; hand that an opportunity was given 

 to ascertain there were seven young birds in her nest. She made no com- 

 plaints, uttered no outcries, but resolutely and devotedly thrust herself be- 

 tween her nestlings and tlie seeming danger. When relea.sed she immedi- 

 ately flew back to them, covered them under her siielteving wings, and looked 

 xij) in the face of her tormentors with a ipiiet and resolute courage that could 

 not be surjiassed. 



The nest of the Chickadee is usually a warm and soft felted mass of the 

 hair and fur of the smaller tiuadrui)ed.s, downy feathers, fine dry grasses and 

 mosses, lining the cavity in which it is placed and contracting it into a deep 

 and purse-like opening if the cavity be larger than is necessary. Usually the 

 site .selected is already in existence, and only enlarged or altered to suit the 

 wishes of the pair. But not unfrequently, at some pains, they will exca- 

 vate an opening for themselves, not only in decaying wood, but even into 

 limbs or trunks that are entirely sound. 



These birds in winter collect around tlie camps of the log-cutters, become 

 very tame, and seek on all occasions to share with their occiqiants their food, 

 often soliciting their portion with plaintive tones. Though nearly om- 

 nivorous in the matter of food, they prefer insects to everything else, and 

 the amount of good conferred by them on the farmers and the owners of 

 woodlands in the destruction of insects in all tlieir forms — egg, cat(!rpillar, 

 larva, or imago — must be very great. No chrysalis is too large to resist 



