SNOW FLAKE AND CKUSSBILL. 147 



AVitli the Tree Sparrows and Juncos, Redpolls feed on 

 the seeds uf plants left uncovered hy the snow, and they 

 also include birch buds in their fare. 



None of our winter birds better illustrate the Hock- 

 ing hal)it than the Snowtlakes, Snow Buntings, or, as tliev 



Snowflake *^^'^ ^^^^ called, White Snowbirds. AV it h 



Piedrvphtnax nivalis, a Uniformity of movement which would 

 Plate L. p^^^ ^Q bhanie the evolutions of the best- 



drilled troops, they whirl over the snow-clad fields, wheel- 

 ing to right or left, as though governed by a single 

 impulse. Suddenly they swing downward into a weedy 

 field, alighting on the snow or ground, where they 7'iin — 

 not hop about — like little beach birds. Sometimes, it is 

 said, they sing on the wing while with ns, but their usual 

 note is a low chirp. They are terrestrial birds, and, al- 

 though tliey may often perch on fences or Iniildings, are 

 rarely seen in trees. 



Snowliakes nest within the Arctic Circle, and, like 

 other of our winter birds that come from the far North, 

 are irregnlar in their movements. As a rule they do not 

 wander much south of Long Island and northern Illinois, 

 but occasionally they go as far as Virginia and Kansas, 

 and are thus among the possibilities which add so much 

 to the pleasure of winter days in the field. 



The Crossbill is a possibility at any season. None of 



our birds is more erratic in its migrations. As a rule, it 



, , is found in the Middle States onlv be- 

 American Crossbill, ^^ , i -» r i / j. t 



Lvjun rurcirosfrn twccu Novembcr and JVIarch, but I 

 minor, ^ave sccu it in Central Park, New 



liigher parts of the Alleghanies and in northern New 

 Enirland it is resident throuii:hout the vear. Crossbills 

 usually wander as far south each winter as Connecticut, 

 but beyond this are of irregular occurrence. 



They feed almost entirely ui)on the seeds of pines, and 



