THE REDPOLL. 



83 



western residents retire into the interior of Alaska to winter, where they 

 are able to withstand the fiercest cold. The interior birds retire largely 

 to the south, and under the urgency of bad weather sweep into or thru 

 eastern Washington in immense numbers. There is also a small movement 

 setting in a southwesterly direc- 

 tion, so that some birds winter 

 regularly on Vancouver Is- 

 land, and a few straggle thru 

 the Puget Sound country. 

 While with us, the Red- 

 poll is nowise dependent 

 upon the forests, l>ut 

 appears to seek the 

 more open country 

 by preference. It 

 subsists chiefly upon 

 seeds, gleaning them 

 from the ground 

 with much pleasant 

 chatter, or seeking 

 them in their winter 

 receptacles. Redpoll 

 again proves kinship 

 with Goldfinch by 

 eating thistle seeds, 

 and with Siskin 

 by his extravagant 

 fondness for the 

 alder catkin. Red- 

 poll's manner is \'ery 

 confiding ; and we 

 are sure that he 

 would not begrudge 

 us a share of his 

 winter viands, if we 

 cared for them. The 



,, . REDPOLLS IN WINTER. 



author is no vege- 

 tarian, but he is bound to admit that a "simple diet of grains, fruits and 

 nuts" makes for contentment among the birds, even at forty below zero. 



As spring comes on, and the gentle h_\'perl)oreans prepare to return to 

 their nati\'e heather, we see the deep-dyed crimson of full regalia on crown 

 and breast. But during the actual breeding season, we are told by a com- 



