164 USEFUL BIRDS. 



summer. It nests in April or May, and sometimes rears 

 two broods in a season. The ordinary cheery chattering 

 call, from which the bird derives its name, is often varied in 

 the milder weather of winter and toward spring by its so- 

 called " phoebe " note, a 

 musical, whistling call, 

 which by the children 

 is sometimes translated 

 "Spring's come." Now 

 and then some peculiarly 

 gifted male essays a jumble 

 of slightly musical notes, which 

 seem to be an attempt to express 

 Fig. 49— Chickadee, one-half ^j^g unconqucrable cheerfulness of 



natural size. 



its nature ; but the Chickadee's at- 

 tempts at song never give very brilliant results. Neverthe- 

 less, the little bird is so happy, companionable, and coniiding 

 that in New England it is one of the most beloved of the 

 feathered race. While, for a bird, it exhibits . remarkable 

 intelligence in many ways, it seems to confide in man to an 

 unusual degree. It is an easy mark for the small boy with 

 his air gun, and numbers of these birds fall victims to their 

 misplaced confidence in human nature. 



Chickadees sometimes go to the camps of Avoodchoppers, 

 in hard winters, and learn to take food from the hand. One 

 day while I was sitting on the ground in the woods a Chick- 

 adee alighted on a branch about two feet away and looked- 

 up in my face ; and they have often hovered within a few 

 inches of my head, as if about to alight there. Occasionally 

 one may be readily taught to feed from the hand. Minot 

 says that they are so merry, genial, and sociable that their 

 company is sought by other birds, such as Creepers, Nut- 

 hatches, Kinglets, and Woodpeckers, whose habits are like 

 their own. This has been observed by every ornithologist, 

 but no one seems to have mentioned the fact that many birds 

 other than those given above seek the company of the Chick- 

 adee for a different reason. Every fall the Warblers, on their 

 way south, stop for a time in favorable localities, and accom- 

 pany the small roving bands of Chickadees. At this season 



