SNOWFLAKE AND CROSSBILL. 147 



With tlie Tree Sparrows and Jiincos, Redpolls feed on 

 the seeds of plants left uncovered bj the snow, and they 

 also include birch buds in their fare. 



None of our wiilter birds better illustrate the flock- 

 ing habit than the Snowflakes, Snow Buntings, or, as they 



Snowflake are also called. White Snowbirds. With 



riectrophenax nivaUs. a Uniformity of movement which would 

 Plate L. p^^ ^Q shame 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 snuw or ground, where they riin — 

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

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

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

 though they may often perch on fences or buildings, are 

 rarely seen in trees. 



Snowflakes nest within the Arctic Circle, and, like 

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

 are irregular 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 only be- 



American Crossbill, tv r i 



Loxia curvirostm twccn November and March, but I 



minor, have Seen it in Central Park, New 



York city, as late as May. In the 



higher parts of the Alleghanies and in northern New 



England it is resident throughout the year. Crossbills 



usually wander as far south each winter as Connecticut, 



but beyond this are of irregular occurrence. 



They feed almost entirely upon the seeds of pines, and 

 11 



