Bethel, Maine.
1902.
January 4.
(2)
Chickadees and ours at home.
  The flock of 3 birds contained also a Hudsonian Chickadee,
two Kinglets and a Canada Nuthatch and there was another
Nuthatch in the flock of six Chickadees.
  The Hudsonian Titmouse kept his black-capped cousins
close company during their rambles through some rather open
woods of gray birches intermingled with balsams. Like them
he was chiefly feeding on birch seeds which he obtained by
pecking the cones to pieces, sometimes perching just above
them and bending forward to strike down at them, at others
hanging back downward beneath them and striking upward. Two
or three strokes were usually sufficient to demolish the cone
and most of the seeds appeared to be scattered over the sur-
face of the snow beneath and lost. The little bird worked
busily and cheerily after the manner of all Titmice. I did
not notice that his attitudes or motions differed in any way
from those of the Black-capped Chickadee but he was perhaps
more restless than they.
  I was surprised at the number of Partridge tracks which 
we saw in the Glen Woods this morning. They were literally
everywhere and most of them appeared quite fresh. The birds
must be much more numerous than they were last year.
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