Rural School Leaflet io.^i 



SPECIAL STUDIES FOR WINTER 



We have often heard boys and girls say that there is nothing in nature 

 to study in winter. This is because everything is quiet, and because boys and 

 girls sit around the fire so much more than they go out of doors. To many 

 persons who love nature there is more wonder in winter than in summer. 

 There are the great stretches of snow-covered fields, the wonderful greens 

 of the pines and the hemlocks, the silent, cold, snow-capped mountains, 

 the buried brooks, the drifted highways, the music of the winds, the 

 frost pictures on the windows, the strange, weedy stalks that appear above 

 the snow, the buttei-fly that comes out of its hiding place in the February 

 thaw, and the sparkling starlight through the leafless branches of the 

 trees — yes, nature in winter has rich stores for us. 



Among the interesting sights and sounds that are a part of the out-of- 

 doors these days, there are a few that we would like to have you find this 

 year, and we shall ask you, therefore, to consider the following: 



I. Be on the lookout for the snowflake, a winter bird. Ask your 

 teacher to read to you the article written by Doctor Allen in the teacher's 

 leaflet. Every person who has seen a flock of snowflakes will never forget 

 the experience. Perhaps these birds will come into your neighborhood, 

 and if you will look at the picture in the September leaflet and note the 

 description, you will be sure to recognize them. In Doctor Allen's article 

 you will learn something of the behavior of these birds in the winter fields, 

 and this will help you also, because habits of birds are very important when 

 we are trying to identify them. The suggestions given below will be 

 useful to you in your study: 



1. Look for a bird al^out the size of a sparrow, very white, traveling 

 in a flock. 



2. The snowflake is found in open weedy fields, often near the house, 

 but preferably near the more open country. 



3 . Note the shape of the bird with its large head and shoulders and heavy 

 bill. Is it a sparrow? 



4. Look for the snowflake's tracks in the snow. Does it hop, as do the 

 junco and the tree sparrow, or does it run? 



5. Watch the flock as it rises from the ground or as it is about to alight, 

 and see in what unison the birds turn or circle. 



6. Do they ever alight on trees? On fences? 



7. What other birds do not alight in trees? 



II. The bluebird sometimes arrives in New York State in February; 

 be on the lookout for it. 



III. We want you to be sure to have a feeding station in the winter- 

 time because then the birds need it most. Your teacher will perhaps let 



