126 TITMICE 



tions. Active, cheerful, friendly, he is an ever welcome 

 visitor to our lunch-counters, and often shows complete 

 and winning confidence in us by perching on our hands. 

 His clearly enunciated chick-a-dee, with its variations, we 

 accept as his characteristic language, but the sentiment 

 expressed in his two- or three-noted whistle seems to 

 belong to the Pewee rather than the sprightly Black-cap. 

 It is, in fact, often falsely attributed to that bird, even 

 when our books tell us that the Pewee is wintering in the 

 tropics! 



The Chickadee nests in holes, usually within ten feet 

 of the ground, laying 5-9 white, brown-speckled eggs in the 

 first half of May, 



CAROLINA CHICKADEE 



Penlhesies carolinensis carolinensis. Case 4, Fig. 68 



Smaller than the Black-cap; without white margins on the 

 wing-coverts. L. 4$. 



Range. Southeastern United States, north to northern New 

 Jersey and central Missouri. The south Florida form (P. c. 

 impiger) is slightly smaller and darker. 



Washington, very common P. R., particularly in winter. 



Whether because of a different temperament or because 

 milder winters make him less dependent on man's bounty, 

 the Carolina Chickadee does not show that unquestioning 

 confidence in our good faith which makes the Black-cap 

 so dear to us. 



The chick-a-dee note is less clearly and more hurriedly 

 given by the Carolina, and the pe-wee whistle is not so loud 

 and usually consists of four notes instead of two. The 

 nesting habits and eggs of the two species are alike, but the 

 southern bird begins to lay in March. 



