the matter further, the siskins, the crossbills, the purple finches and the redpolls 

 have each a mellow rattle, which lends itself with equal facility to that generic 

 conception of the iceberg children. The dialect may differ, but in all of them 

 the accent is Hyperborean. 



I well remember my first meeting with that prince of storm waifs, the 

 snowflake. It was in eastern Washington, where the climate is not less hospitable 

 than that of much lower latitudes farther east. A distant-faring, feathered 

 stranger had tempted me far afield, when, all at once, a fluttering snowdrift, con- 

 trary to nature's wont, rose from earth toward heaven. I held my breath while 

 I listened to the mild babel of tiit-ut-nt-tezvs with which the snow buntings 

 greeted me. The birds were loath to leave the place, and hovered indecisively 

 while the bird-man drank them in. As they moved slowly off each bird seemed 

 alternately to fall and struggle upward through an arc of five or six feet, inde- 

 pendently of his fellows, so that the flock as a whole produced quite the effect 

 of a troubled snowstorm. 



Snowflakes occur singly or associated in flocks of from a dozen to several 

 hundred individuals. Their thrilling call note, tezv or te-ew, may be heard during 

 the falling of the real flakes, when the passing bird is invisible. Careful scrutiny 

 of loosely flocking horned larks may occasionally discover a stray snowflake, 

 as also a few Lapland longspurs. 



Probably no winter passes in which a few of the birds do not reach our 

 northern borders. But they rarely extend below the middle of the state, and 

 only during the most severe winters are they found anywhere in large numbers. 

 While with us they move from field to field in open places, seeking out the 

 weed-seed which forms their almost exclusive diet. A few individuals may 

 linger long enough in the spring to display the deeper browns and blacks of 

 the breeding plumage. 



The snowflake, or snow bunting, is the true snow bird. It is a sociable 

 creature, visiting the Great Lakes region during our severe weather in company 

 with longspurs and horned larks. Like the snowy owl the range extends to the 

 far north. The food consists principally of weed seeds, which they gather 

 about meadows, pastures and stubble land. Particularly fond of the black bind 

 weed and fox-tail grass, they are a most useful bird. In their evolutions they 

 present a pretty sight, and have a pleasant mellow chirp which is quite impressive 

 when uttered simultaneously by several score of throats. 



The little fellow should be readily distinguished from all other finches 

 as it is the only white form. It is strictly terrestrial, never alighting in trees, 

 but is sometimes seen on rail fences or on the roofs of outbuildings. Like the 

 horned lark it walks and does not hop. Snowflakes are of an optimistic dis- 

 position considering the scarcity of suitable food during our severe weather, 

 which scarcity often forces them to visit our homes and barnyards. 



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