I WINTER nttttos* 



The chickadees as a family have a general resemblance to the jays* 

 Both have the same conical bill, with its nostrils concealed by feathers, 

 and stout feet for clinging to branches an 1 for holding food, while the 

 birds eat it. There arc also crested and crestless jays and chickadees. 

 But there is one peculiarity in the internal structure of the chickadees 

 which is not shared by the jays. That is the tongue ; this organ in the 

 jay is flat, horny, pointed and slightly cleft at the tip, while in the chick- 

 adee the tongue looks as if it had been cut off at the tip and four little tufts- 

 of bristles grafted into it( See figure 2, a. ), These tufts of bristles no 

 doubt aid the chickadee to gather the minute eggs of insects, etc. upon 

 which the birds feed. 



Figure 2. 



Figure 3. 



Black-capped Chickadee, 



Galden-crowned kinglet 



The tongue of the newly hatched chickadee resembles that of a jay/ 



(See figure 2, c, where I have given a cut of the tongue of a very young' 



chickadee). As the bird grows older, the tongue gradually assumes the 



bristles, those in the center appearing first. ( See figure 2, b, where I have 



given a cut of the tongue of an older chickadee). 



There are many species of chickadees in the world and they are 

 found scattered over the temperate portion of the northern hemisphere, 

 some even being found in the arctic regions. 



Can any bright boy or girl tell why the chickadee has its nostrils 

 protected by feathers and where it builds its nest? 



THE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. 



Accompanying the chickadees, we frequently see a much smaller 

 bird, wiich not only excells them in activity, but also has a very fussy way 

 umping about with half open wings while it hastily examines cracks in 

 the bark or crevices in the dead limbs of the tree on which it moves. 



