226 



are very small in their early stages and the little bird that devours a whole 

 cluster of eggs at a gulp may benefit agriculture as greatly as a larger 

 one that makes a meal from one or two large caterpillars or adult insects 

 but scorns the minute ones. The prying habits of the Chickadee and 

 its companions the Nuthatch, Creeper, etc., and their close examination 

 of the small crevices where many insects hide or hibernate, render their 

 services of great value to the husbandman, especially in winter, when 

 insect enemies are scarce, and the total taken throughout the year by 

 these allied species must be very great. These active little birds demand 

 comparatively large quantities of food to resist the intense cold, and the 

 smallness of their game necessitates the consumption of innumerable 

 individuals. 



The Chickadee's food is 68 per cent insect and 32 per cent vegetable. 

 The former comprises eggs, larvae, chrysalids, and small insects, largely 

 weevils, and includes some of the worst orchard and crop pests. The 

 vegetable matter is largely small seeds and wild fruit. No charges of 

 damage to cultivated varieties have been advanced. Chickadees can 

 easily be induced to come about the home grounds in winter and with a 

 little coaxing become tame enough even to alight on the person and feed 

 from the hand. A lump of suet fastened to a tree trunk is a never failing 

 attraction to them and ensures their constant visits. 



740. Brown-headed Chickadee, hudsonian chickadee, fr. — la mesange du 

 Canada. Penthestes hudsonicus. L, 5-12. Similar to the Black-capped Chickadee but 

 duller and darker in general tone; cap greyish brown of nearly the same colour as the back; 

 throat-patch present but veiled; flanks rufous tinted. 



Distinctions. The brownish cap and back and general duller and less contrasted 

 coloration. 



Field Marks. A very dark Chickadee with coloration diffused and pattern lacking 

 distinctness. Its characteristic Chickadee note is hoarse but otherwise similar to that of the 

 common Chickadee. 



Nesting. In holes in trees and stubs in nest of moss and felted fur. 



Distribution. Northern America from beyond settlement to the tree limits. 



SUBSPECIES. The Brown-headed Chickadee is represented by two subspecies in 

 eastern Canada. The type form, the Hudsonian Chickadee, extends to central Ontario, 

 east of which it is replaced by the Acadian Chickadee P. h. littoralis which differs from it 

 slightly in size and colour. 



The Brown-headed Chickadee is so similar in habits to the Black- 

 capped that further description would be little more than repetition. 



FAMILY — SYLVIIDJS. OLD-WORLD WARBLERS, KINGLETS, AND 

 GNATCATCHERS. 



An Old World family represented in America by only a few species. 

 Of these, the Old World Warblers, not to be confused with our Wood 

 Warblers, do not occur in eastern Canada, the Kinglets are represented 

 by two species, and the Gnatcatchers by one species. 



Subfamily — Regulinae. Kinglets. 



General Description. The Kinglets are the smallest of Canadian birds except the 

 Hummingbird. They are wren-like in their short round body but more like Chickadees in 

 habits and actions. Their colours are dull olive-green, lighter below, and they have small, 

 brilliantly coloured crown spots of red, orange, or yellow. The bill is small and straight, 

 similar to but not as stout as that of the Chickadee (See Figure 67, page 29). 



