COMMON SNOW-BIRD. 493 



the shade of thickets or the sides of hills, and frequently 

 utter a few sweet, clear, and tender notes, almost similar 

 to the touching warble of the European Robin Red- 

 breast. The jealous contest for the selection of mates 

 already also takes place ; soon after which they retire, 

 mostly to the remote northern or arctic regions to breed ; 

 though, according to Wilson, many also remove only to 

 the high ranges of the Alleghany Mountains, where, in the 

 interior of Virginia, and towards the western sources of 

 the Susquehanna, they also breed in great numbers ; 

 fixing their nests on the ground, or among the grass, the 

 pairs still associating in near communion with each other. 

 In Europe this species dwells almost wholly among the 

 wild recesses of the Alpine Mountains of Switzerland, 

 the Pyrenees, and the high northern chains on the limits 

 of the region of perpetual ice ! In the winter, less driv- 

 en by necessity, or less encouraged by the inviting scope 

 of an extensive continent, they there only migrate into 

 the mountainous countries, and rarely descend into the 

 plains. Their food is also observed to be insects, pine 

 seeds, and those of aquatic plants. They likewise nest 

 upon the rocks, or in their crevices, and lay 3 to 5 eggs, of 

 a pale green, scattered with irregular touches and points 

 of cinereous, blended with spots of dark green. 



The Snow-Bird is 6^ to 7 inches long. The general color is bluish 

 or leaden black, inclining to grey ; the lower parts from the breast to 

 the tail white. ; Three secondary quills next the body edged with pale 

 brown, the primaries with white. Tail dusky, emarginate. Bill 

 and legs pale yellowish flesh-color in winter ; in summer the bill is 

 black, and the feet brown. Iris bluish-black. — Female smd young 

 tinged with brown, — By the wearing of the edges of the feathers, 

 in the course of the season, the male becomes of a deeper and clearer 

 color. 



42 



