i6 



Bird Studies. 



paign against the dormant insect life. They are often accompanied by 

 Golden-crowned Kinglets, and a pair of White or Redrbellied Nuthatches 

 frequently join the gay company. These titmice are found north of the 

 Potomac and Ohio valleys, and they breed from Southern Illinois and Penn- 

 sylvania northward, and on the summits of the Alleghanies, as far south as 

 South Carolina. 



The feathers of the Chickadee are of a peculiar downy fineness and are 

 almost filamentous in character. The top of the head is black, which color 

 extends down on the back of the neck to the back. The throat is also black. 

 The sides of the head and neck are white. The breast and belly are white, 

 and the sides and flanks are pale ash, washed with light buff. The back is 

 ash color, the wings and tail feathers are a much darker shade of the same 

 color, and are edged with white. The outer webs of the larger feathers of 

 the shoulders are also conspicuously edged with white. The sexes do not differ 

 in appearance, and the young, on leaving the nest, resemble the old birds. 

 The birds are about five inches in length. 



The nest is made of grasses, mosses, feathers, and similar soft material, 

 and is placed in a hole, often excavated by the birds, in a post, stump, or tree 

 trunk,, usually not more than ten or fifteen feet from the ground. Five to 

 eight eggs are laid. They are white, spotted with reddish brown, particu- 

 larly at the larger end, and are about three fifths of an inch long, and not quite 

 half an inch in their other diameter. 



The call of the Chickadee is indicated by his name, but his song notes of 

 two or three clear whistles, rather long drawn out, are very pleasing in quality. 



CAROLINA CHICKADEE. 



