THE SNOWFLAKE OR SNOW BUNTING 



Finch Family — Fringillidce 



Lengfth: A little less than 7 inches; slightly larger than the 

 junco and the English sparrow. 



General Appearance: A brown, black, and white bird; the 

 white is conspicuous on wings and tail, especially in 

 flight. The bird has a characteristic way of "hug- 

 ging the ground" when walking or running — it does 

 not hop. 



Male and Female: In winter: head brown on top, lighter on 

 neck; white o,n sides of head, with a brown thumb- 

 mark below eye; back brown, streaked with black; 

 throat and belly white; a broad brownish band across 

 breast; a brownish wash on sides and rump; wings 

 black and white, some of the feathers edged with 

 brown — in flight, the wings appear white, broadly 

 tipped with black; inner tail-feathers black, outer 

 feathers white. In summer: back and shoulders 

 black, the rest of the body white; wings and tail 

 black and white. 



Notes: Thoreau calls their note ""'a rippling whistle." He says 

 also, "Besides their rippling note, they have a vibra- 

 tory twitter, and from the loiterers you hear quite 

 a tender peep." ^ 



Habitat : The tundras of North America. Snow buntings breed 

 in the treeless regions of the North; they migrate 

 southward during the winter. 



Range: Northern Hemisphere. In North America, they breed 

 from 83° north (including Greenland), to the north- 

 ern part of Canada and Alaska; winter from 

 Unalaska and south-central Canada to northern 



1 From "Notes on New England Birds," H. D. Thoreau, page 278. 



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