118 CAROLINA CHICKADEE, 
flock, and the assemblage hops about in the branches of the last tree. At last some 
few ascend into the air to begin the journey, but perceiving that their comrades do not 
follow, they return. Then again some will make a trial until, finally, they all start in 
earnest, the most tardy making haste to join the crowd. By producing a sharp and 
buzzing sound and simultaneously throwing a hat into the air, the departure of the 
flock may be delayed. The birds will return to the tree which they had just left. Very 
soon they will repeat the same manoeuver, their reluctance being probably due to the 
fear of birds of prey. They are terrified by the rapid passage of a pigeon or any large 
bird, which may be mistaken for a Hawk; for they know only too well, that their 
powers of flight are sadly deficient, and that escape from an enemy in the open air is 
almost impossible. 
The Carolina Chickadee ranges from the Atlantic to Kansas and eastern Texas. 
South of the once famous line of Mason and Dixon it seems to be common, but 
occasionally it occurs further north, as Mr. Robert Ridgway observed it frequently in 
southern Illinois. Its range is presumed to extend to all the States south of the Ohio 
and the Potomac. In Florida, I observed it as a common bird near Pensacola, in the 
woods of the Suwanee and St. Johns. 
NAMES: Caroxina CHICKADEE, Southern Chickadee, Carolina Titmouse.—Carolina-Meise. (Germ.) 
SCIENTIFIC NAMES: PARUS CAROLINENSIS Aun. (1834). Poecile carolinensis Bonap. (1850). 
DESCRIPTION: Sexes alike. Upper parts, brownish-ash. Crown and throat, black, and the sides of the 
head, white. Beneath, white, with a brownish wash on the sides. Primaries, Secondaries, and outer 
tail-feathers not edged with white. 
Length, 4.50 inches; wings, 2.50; tail, 2.40 inches. 
The Hupsonian CHICKADEE, Parus hudsonicus Forster, also known as the Hudson 
Bay Chickadee, and Brown-capped Chickadee, is a bird of the Canadian Fauna. It is 
resident in northern New England, and of casual occurrence in northern Michigan and 
New York. It is the very counterpart of the two last described species. Above it is 
pale olive-brown; below, whitish, shading into light rusty-brown on the sides and 
behind; its crown and throat are brown. 
The CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, P. rufescens Towns., is a resident throughout 
the year in the forests of the coast distriéts of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, 
and southern Alaska. Back, deep rusty-chestnut; top of head and throat, more sooty- 
brown. Sides of head and neck, and upper parts of breast, white; sides and flanks, 
bright rusty. A similar variety, the CALIFORNIA CHICKADEE, P. rufescens neglectus 
Ripcw., inhabits the coast region of California. 
The Mexican CHICKADEE, P. meridionalis Scuat., a bird of the highlands of 
Mexico, is of rare occurrence in southern Arizona. 
The SIBERIAN CHICKADEE, P. cinctus obtectus Ripcw., has been known to occur in 
northern Alaska. 
