132 HOW TO STUDY BIRDS 



white. The first three more often cling to weeds to 

 get at the seeds and alight on trees. 



The goldfinch can be distinguished from the other 

 two by Its plain breast and black wings. The others 

 have striped underparts, but the redpoll has a crimson 

 patch on the crown and the adult males rosy-tinted 

 breasts. The cedar birds and purple finches also 

 flock, as do the crossbills and the pine grosbeak, and 

 to some extent the tree sparrows, juncos, and meadow- 

 larks, in straggling parties. 



Some of the more northern birds are very Irreg- 

 ular in their appearances, sometimes not coming as 

 far south as Massachusetts for years at a time. This 

 Is notably true of the pine grosbeak, the two crossbills, 

 and the redpoll. Their coming is thought to depend 

 more upon the food supply than on the weather. 

 The winters when they appear are hailed with delight 

 by bird lovers. 



When we see in the evergreens or shade trees of 

 the garden a flock of gray birds about the size of a 

 robin, we at once surmise that the pine grosbeak has 

 come. They feed a great deal on buds, ash and ma- 

 ple seeds, and frozen fruit. The crossbills live 

 largely on the seeds which they extract from the vari- 

 ous evergreen cones — spruce, pine, and hemlock. 

 Their mellow call notes uttered as they fly from tree 

 to tree thrill us with delight. 



Another thrill comes when one approaches a flock 

 of small birds feeding on weed stems projecting above 

 the snow, thinking that they are goldfinches, and sees 



