244 
OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 
round the buds and branches, hanging from their extremi- 
ties and proceeding often in reversed postures, head down- 
wards, like so many tumblers, prying into every crevice of 
the bark, and searching around the roots, and in every 
possible retreat of their insect prey or its larvse. If the 
object chance to fall, they industriously descend to the 
ground and glean it up with the utmost economy. 
On seeing a cat, or other object of natural antipathy, 
the Chicadee, like the peevish Jay, scolds in aloud, angry, 
and hoarse note, like 'tshe, ddigh ddigJi ddigh. Among 
the other notes of this species, I have heard a call like 
tshe-dc-jay , tshe-de-jay , the two first syllables being a slen- 
der chirp, with the jay strongly pronounced. The only 
note of this bird which may be called a song, is one which 
is frequently heard at intervals in the depth of the forest, 
at times of the day usually when all other birds are silent. 
We then may sometimes hear in the midst of this solitude 
two feeble, drawling, clearly whistled, and rather melan- 
choly notes, like ’te-derry, and sometimes 5 ye-perrit , and 
occasionally, but much more rarely, in the same wiry, 
whistling, solemn tone \ phehe . The young, in winter, also 
sometimes drawl out these contemplative strains. In all 
cases, the first syllable is very high and clear, the second 
word drops low, and ends like a feeble plaint. This is 
nearly all the quaint song ever attempted by the Chicadee ; 
and is perhaps the two notes sounding like the whetting of 
a saw, remarked of this bird in England by Mr. WTite, in 
his Natural History of SelborneA On fine days, about 
the commencement of October, I have heard the Chicadee 
sometimes, for half an hour at a time, attempt a lively, pet- 
ulant warble, very different from his ordinary notes. On 
these occasions he appears to flirt about, still hunting for 
his prey, but almost in an ecstasy of delight and vigor. 
* Yol. i. p. 177. (1st Ed.) 
