My interest in animals started in our backyard. The birds on the feeder were an everyday attraction for all of our family. Very early in my life, I knew them all by name. I really liked them all, but there was one that especially caught my attention. It was the chickadee. I thought the black on its head and the white cheek were extremely attractive. Of all the European species of that same family, what we call tits, five of them came to enjoy dinner in our backyard. Much later, when I started a professional career as a wildlife painter in the United States, I was very surprised to find the smallest member of that tit family in this wonderful country, so blessed with a big variety of colorful bird life. But the name was different; the “chickadee,” inspired by its call. - CB