BOB-WHITE 



A BIRD OF GOOD CHEER 



{Figs. I, 2) 



ITH most birds family life lasts only 

 during the nesting season. This 

 includes the time when the young 

 are helpless and entirely dependent 

 on their parents for food, and also 

 a period of variable length when, 

 under the care of their parents, they learn what to 

 eat, where and how to find it, how to avoid the ene- 

 mies of their kind, where to sleep, and the daily 

 routine of their lives. 



After this preparation, and having exchanged 

 their nestling suit for their first winter costume, 

 family ties are usually broken and the young be- 

 come independent and shift for themselves. Some 

 birds join great flocks of their own species, as do 

 the Blackbirds, Starlings, Shorelarks and Snow 

 Buntings. Others, like the Juncos, White-throated, 

 and Tree Sparrows, live In rather scattered com- 

 panies which are probably associated day after day; 



120 



