How to Name the Birds 159 



scheme which, while it apparently does not bring them into harmony with 

 their surroundings, conforms with Thayer's law for the coloration of ani- 

 mals, that is, darker above than below. 



External Structure. — Chickadees and Nuthatches are so different in 

 structure that some authors place them in separate families, though they are 

 not so treated in the ' Check-List ' of the American Ornithologists' Union. 

 The Chickadees have a short, stout bill, the nostrils being covered by bristly 

 tufts as in the Crows and Jays; indeed, as many systematists have remarked, 

 there are no structural characters other than size to distinguish the Chick- 

 adees from the Jays. The tail is rather long and rounded, the outer 

 primary being short, and the plumage loose and fluffy. 



The Nuthatches agree with the Chickadees in having the outer primary 

 short, but differ from them in having a short, square tail, long, slender bill, 

 and much longer toes and toe-nails 



Appearance and Habits. — The climbing habit of Nuthatches is their 

 distinguishing characteristic in life, and their elongated toes and toe-nails 

 are doubtless of assistance to them in this connection, though the tail appar- 

 ently here plays no part beyond being short enough not to interfere with their 

 movements in either direction. The bill is used as a pick, but its length 

 apparently renders it more serviceable in reaching into cracks and crevices. 



With the Chickadees the stout bill is employed in excavating a nesting- 

 hole and in hammering food held by the strong feet. 



Song. — Though possessing a variety of notes, neither Chickadees nor 

 Nuthatches can be considered songsters. The former, however, utter 

 whistled calls which are often possessed of much sweetness. 



The Migration of Warblers 



Few subjects are of more interest to field students of birds than 

 the migration of the host of Warblers which pass northward in the spring 

 and southward in the fall. Coming from their far winter homes when the 

 weather is comparatively settled, there is a certain regularity in their move- 

 ments which makes a study of them unusually valuable. For both these 

 reasons Bird-Lore proposes to devote much attention during the coming 

 year to the times of arrival and departure of Warblers in eastern North 

 America, and in this undertaking it asks the cooperation of all its readers 

 who have notes on the migration of Warblers. The notes should give 

 (1) the place of observation; (2) the observer's name; (3) name of 

 the species, followed by the data called for in the Biologic Survey Migration 

 Schedules, that is, (4) when was it first seen? and about how many were 

 seen? (5) when did it become common? (6) when was it last seen? 

 (7) is it common or rare? If you cannot reply to all these questions 

 answer those you can and send your notes to the editor of Bird -Lore any 

 time during the next two months. 



