224 Birds of Oregon d/hf ]VLis/iingtofi 



kno\Mi places in the mountams, and are seen 

 only in winter and in earlv spring. 



THE SNOWFLAKE, OR SNOW-BFNTING. 



Lengtli, 6. 1 inches plus. 



The Snow-flake, or Snow-Buntmg, which nests 

 withm the Arctic Circle, may be seen not infre- 

 quently during the winter months in eastern 

 Oregon and Washington. His commg is not for 

 a warmer temperature, it would seem, but for 

 the light, and for the abundant food that may be 

 gathered from the tall weeds and grasses stand- 

 ing above the snow. He may be seen on the 

 northern prairies of our country, clear across the 

 continent, and the little creature seems fairly to 

 rejoice m the blizzards and the low temperatures, 

 in the severity of which men and beasts perish. 



Description. — Winter plumage : Head, back and 

 inner wing-feathers, more or less reddish-brown and 

 black: tail centre-featliers black, outer-feathers white : 

 breast and sides, slightly brownish : abdomen, white. 



Only a winter resident. 



His whiter habitat is over the whole northern 

 haK of the United States. 



