Birds and Seasons 185 



The lists of the daily observer reach their lowest ebb at this 

 time. The total number of species present is much greater than is 

 generally supposed, but the birds are not very active and have but 

 little to say ; while the observer perhaps is cold and fast loses his 

 enthusiasm in the face of a biting wind or a driving snow-storm. 



Low meadows and swamps with sheltering thickets are the most 

 favorable localities, and here will be found great mixed flocks of Tree 

 Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Juncos, with perhaps a few Field and 

 Swamp Sparrows. 1 his association in flocks is characteristic of most 

 birds at this season. The Meadowlarks congregate in this manner 

 and come down from the open upland to seek food and shelter on 

 the broad river marshes ; while in the tree-tops of the woods and 

 orchards are mixed troops of Nuthatches, Chickadees and Golden- 

 crowned Kinglets, with perhaps a Downy Woodpecker or Tufted Tit. 



Crows are probably the most conspicuous of all winter birds, 

 flying morning and evening in long black lines to and from their 

 roosts. Winter is not a time of song, but we have some exceptions 

 to the rule. Every bright sunny day the clear whistle of the Caro- 

 lina Wren may be heard in the sheltered ravines, and the voices of 

 the Cardinal and Tufted Tit, which he seems to imitate, are by no 

 means silent. An added charm that this season possesses is the ever- 

 present possibility of some sudden .flight of Snowflakes, Crossbills, 

 Redpolls or other rare visiter from the north, and no weather is too 

 severe for the bird-lover when such acquaintances may be formed. 

 Southern New Jersey, with its sheltering pines and cedars and its 

 deep swamps, is a great winter rendezvous for birds, and many species 

 winter there regularly which rarely or never occur in Pennsylvania in 

 December or January. 



PERMANENT RESIDENTS 



Great Blue Heron, Woodcock, Bob-White, Dove, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered 

 Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, 

 ■Great Horned Owl, Screech Owl, Long-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, 

 Downy Woodpecker, Crow, Blue Jay, Meadowlark, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Song 

 Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Cardinal, Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Wren, 

 Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch. 



WINTER VISITANTS 



Regular. — Herring Gull, Rough-legged Hawk, Pigeon Hawk, Marsh Hawk, Short- 

 ■eared Owl, Junco, Tree Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Pine Finch, Purple Finch, 

 American Pipit, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Black-capped Chickadee, Golden- 

 crowned Kinglet. 



/;-re^?^/ar (omitting Water Fowl). — Duck Hawk, Goshawk, Acadian Owl, Snowy 

 Owl, Barred Owl, Horned Lark, Prairie Horned Lark, American Crossbill, White- 

 winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, Snowflake, Lapland Longspur, Redpoll, Northern 

 Shrike. 



