172 OUR WINTER BIRDS 



advancing northward and which are represented 

 beyond the limits of the country where they are com- 

 mon by more or less widely separated outlying 

 settlements. 



The Tufted Titmouse 



The Tufted Titmouse looks so much stronger 

 than his cousin, the Chickadee, that of the two one 

 would expect him to live much the farther north. 

 But the Hudsonian Chickadee lives northward to 

 the very limit of tree-growth in Labrador and the 

 bleak interior of British America, while the Tufted 

 Titmouse is rarely found north of the latitude of 

 New York City. 



With the coming of winter this species usually 

 retreats a little from its more advanced stations 

 and it is during these short journeys in the spring 

 and fall that one is more apt to see It — or perhaps 

 one should say hear it, for the Tufted Titmouse 

 is an inveterate whistler and is more than apt to 

 announce his presence by a loud, clear "peto, 

 peto, peto," which can be heard for a long dis- 

 tance and which the bird seems never to tire of re- 

 peating. 



Doubtless this call is the equivalent of the Chicka- 

 dee's tenderly whistled "phoebe" call, though it is 



