﻿8 Bird -Lore 



father, if I have determined the sex correctly," took most of the care of the 

 little ones, at least when they were about the house. 



As soon as the young were weaned they commenced to disappear one 

 after another, and after July I I saw no more of them. Possibly they came 

 to some tragic end, but I prefer to think that the parents took them away 

 and left them where they could not find their way back. 



On July 15 my bird commenced to carry food again, and on July 29 he 

 came with two new babies. They seemed very young and helpless, but, 

 as before, were soon fed on my hand. They would often come together, 

 and he would feed them by turn. Although fond of nuts himself, he would 

 take nothing but doughnuts for the young. I suppose it was too much work 

 to break up the nuts. When the little ones were about old enough to care 

 for themselves, it was funny to see him give the first a bite of food, and then 

 a dab with the bill. Sometimes he would get so energetic with his cuffs 

 that they would have to take refuge under my hand, clinging with their feet 

 to my fingers. 



On August 13 one of the young birds came alone, and I heard him sing 

 the " Phcebe " song, as well as the chick -a- dee- dee. .- I had heard strange 

 trembling notes for a day or two, and suspected that they came from the 

 young birds, but ha.t not been able to verify the suspicion. 



They have been feeding themselves for some time now, but are still with 

 me and come to my hand for food. They often come together, but I am 

 sorry to say that they quarrel most shamefully. When very hungry they 

 will eat together peacefully for a short time, but before long one or other 

 of them will commence to call names. What they say does not seem to me 

 at all objectionable. It sounds very much like Chickadee , chickadee, but I 

 have learned that when said in a certain way with the accent on chick 

 it is always the signal for a regular pitched battle. 



The father bird often comes when the young birds are eating, but he 

 always sends them off in a hurry. Evidently he has no intention of sharing 

 his food with any of his offspring. One of the young birds sometimes 

 sleeps in the piazza screen when it is rolled up for the night. The photo- 

 graph shows one of the young birds eating. As they were rather shy of the 

 camera, we did not succeed in getting the two together. 



*Chickedees are apparently not to be distinguished sexually by their notes, both sexes 

 Littering the ' Phoebe ' call ; and the fact that among birds the female parent is usually the 

 more solicitous for the safety of the young, prompts the suggestion that our correspondent 

 is possibly in error in this determination of sex. — Ed. 



