THE AUDUBON BULLETIN BG 
not stop at that though, for he drives her off the place if she dares 
approach when he feeds. But as spring comes he grows less self-centered 
and begins to play hide and seek clumsily, finally permitting her to 
come on the suet tree while he is eating. Eventually she grows so bold 
that she chases him away till she has had her fill of suet. She is now the 
boss of the family and takes every advantage of her chance to bully 
him. 
Chickadee, the friendliest and sweetest natured of them all, is not 
afraid of any other bird. Possibly because he is so free from guile him- 
self he suspects no evil in others. But though he is generous and friendly, 
he will not be imposed upon. When Nuthatch dashed at him, plainly 
aiming to drive him from the shelf, Chickadee hopped nimbly into the 
air and was back at his walnut lunch again before Nuthatch had 
recovered his balance and turned to renew the attack. At the second 
rush Chickadee stopped eating and went for that Nuthatch in a manner 
that left no doubt as to his intentions. He was not disturbed again. 
He never seems to mind the cold or snow, and never whines as his cousin, 
Tufted Tit, does when things do not go to suit him. ‘‘Chicadee-dee-dee,”’ 
he calls cheerfully. Even in winter he finds heart to sing his ““pee-wee”’ 
song. He is the most animated and busy little creature imaginable all 
day, but his day is short. Sleeping in a dark place, a hole in a tree or 
possibly in a nesting box, he goes to bed at about four o’clock, when 
most of the other birds are still feeding. That may account for the 
way he rushes back and forth, from suet to sunflower seeds, and then 
over to the window to try the black walnuts. However, he starts the 
day with the sun, and is industriously tapping at the window shelf 
before we are up. 
Tufted Tit has many of the same habits as Chickadee, but he is not 
quite so friendly or cheerful. He is a little afraid of the window shelf, 
though he will follow us and call to us when we are outside. He has a 
distressing habit of sitting on a branch over the shelf and crying plain- 
tively. Chickadee is too busy to cry. He is not still long enough to feel 
sorry for himself. 
Redhead is the most truculent of our shelf patrons. When he comes 
to feed, he announces himself with a loud “‘kr-ruk, kr-ruk” and even 
Blue Jay steps to one side and discreetly vanishes. Downy lighted on 
the suet tree while Red was there. Red stopped eating, raised his head 
and looked at Downy—a withering look, and Downy hastily hitched 
up the tree. While he remains he has the place to himself. Fortunately 
there has never been more than one of him, so that he has been rather 
amusing. 
No one who has never had a winter feeding shelf really knows birds. 
It gives an unlimited opportunity to get acquainted with the bird 
personalities, and is worth many times the effort expended in the enter- 
tainment it affords. LILLIAN CRAMP. 
