THE CHICKADEE. 



[Parus attricapillus.) 



The little Blackcap, chirping at m}^ door, 

 And then saluting with thy gentle song 

 Or lonely whistle my attentive ear 

 A hearty welcome would I give thee, 

 Thou teacher blest of quietness and peace; 

 Sweet minister of love, for hearts awake 

 To the rare minstrelsy of field and wood. 



— Anonymous, "The Chickadee.' 



There are few birds which exhibit a 

 greater fondness for companionship or a 

 deeper confidence in man than does the 

 Chickadee, or Black-capped Titmouse as 

 it is frequently called. It is, perhaps, 

 the tamest wild bird of our timbered 

 areas. While it prefers the forest, it 

 does not, however, shun the trees of 

 our dooryards. Especially is this true 

 during- the rnore severe weather of fall 

 and winter. Rain, snow and tempest 

 do not seem to ruffle the cheerful tem- 

 perament of the Chickadee. Its happy 

 nature is voiced during storms, as well 

 as in the sunshine, by its pleasing call 

 chickadee-dee-dee-dee. Meeting this 

 friendly and inquisitive little bird on a 

 winter's ramble through the woods, calls 

 to mind the lines of Mr. Emerson: 



Piped a tiny voice nearby, 

 Gay and polite, a cheerful cry — 

 Chick-chickadee. Saucy note 

 Out of sound heart and merry throat. 

 As if it said, "Good-day, good Sir! 

 Fine afternoon, old passenger! 

 Happy to meet you in these places 

 Where January brings few faces." 



T7 



ew things in nature are more cheer- 



ing in the winter than the gay and ever 

 contented Chickadee whose voice and 

 bright actions lead us from the depress- 

 ing influence of the long winter season. 

 Mr. I>angille has used well chosen 

 words in his description of the Chicka- 

 dee. He says: "So brimful of con- 

 tentment, so sweet-spirited and confid- 

 ing, with so much of tlic sunshine of 



hope in their voices, that they are a 

 most significant reproof to querulous, 

 unsatisfied human nature." At all times 

 the bright eyes of these little birds seem 

 to shine with contentment. In many 

 instances their confidence in man has 

 been shown by the birds alighting on 

 his shoulder or arm. When their cun- 

 ning little offspring are held and quiet- 

 ly fondled in the hand, the mother bird 

 has been known to perch upon the hand 

 of the observer and feed the little one. 

 The Chickadee, whose range quite 

 covers eastern North America north of 

 the valleys of the Potomac and Ohio 

 Rivers, is not a strictly migratory bird, 

 though it passes somewhat south of its 

 breedirig range during the winter. It 

 has a roving disposition and, to a cer- 

 tain extent, is erratic in its appearance 

 in many localities. Like the other mem- 

 bers of the family of nuthatches and tit- 

 mice, the Chickadee is a climber, but it 

 differs from the woodpeckers and creep- 

 ers in that it climbs downward with as 

 much ease as it does upward. It is a 

 busy bird, always hunting for its prey. 

 Hopping upward, downward or side- 

 ways upon the trunk or branches of a 

 tree, or hanging upon a twig head 

 downward, it diligently and closely scans 

 every crevice in the bark, and the 

 under sides of the leaves. The services 

 of few, if of any other birds, are more 

 valuable to man in his warfare against 

 the ravages of injurious insects. These 

 diminutive birds hunt for the hidden 

 larvae and ci^i^s of insects and eat large 



