THE SHARP-TAILED GKOUSE 241 



Instead of migrating, he prepares for the se- 

 vere weather by growing a thick, cold-proof coat 

 of warm feathers and donning leggings and 

 snow-shoes to protect his members that must pat- 

 ter about in the snow during the bitterest 

 weather. His leggings consist of a thick cover- 

 ing of hairy feathers that encase his legs and most 

 of his feet, and the snow-shoes are formed by 

 rows of little projections growing along the sides 

 of his toes and thus making a greater bearing 

 surface in the soft snow. It is these shoes that 

 cause the wearer to leave such big, diamond- 

 shaped tracks in the new-fallen snow. When his 

 footprint is left on a firmer foundation, the snow- 

 shoes do not come into play, and it is then a neat, 

 four-toed track. 



That this bird has succeeded in keeping his 

 species in existence in the face of his host of ene- 

 mies, speaks well for his sagacity and racial 

 stamina. Even after his long list of foes has 

 been cut down in winter by the migration of the 

 larger hawks and the denning-up of the skunks 

 and badgers, there still is left a formidable array 

 of enemies. The wolves, coyotes, foxes, and wea- 

 sels all stalk him while he is asleep in his snowy 

 bed; the horned and Arctic owls drop on him 



