How Winter Thins Their Ranks 



13 



their usual spirits. They seemed to understand the situation and to know how 

 to make the best of it. The Ducks and many Herons had apparently left the 

 frozen water for farther south. 



The peculiar fact, however, in connection with this unusual experience was 

 that the saddest, most pitiful part of all the cold siege proved to be the work of 

 the predatory animals which seem invariably to be on hand to take advantage 

 of the weather's whims. On the first night every fox in the land seemed to have 

 been abroad for slaughter, and as the rabbits and field-mice were well hidden, 

 the hunting was all for the easy birds. 



The tracks of these gray foxes in the feathery snow showed that the animals 

 hunted for the most part in pairs and divided up the ground in such a way as 

 to cover a large amount of territory. They led up wind, this way and that, 

 with here and there a deep long set of marks showing where a spring had been 

 made on a helpless, sleepy little Sparrow that huddled against a few grass 

 blades. Some blood and the crumpled carcass always told the tale. There 

 were no misses that night. In one field a fox killed five Sparrows within about 

 a hundred yards' distance. Not one was eaten. 



At midday following, Red-tail and smaller Hawks, Turkey Vultures and 

 Black Vultures, sat on the trees gorged with food. Owls were very noisy at 

 night and may have been destructive to the little birds, because the mice 

 stayed under the snow; but I am glad to say I found no proof whatever of this. 

 To the small boy and the gun belonged much blame. Armed with sticks, 

 parties of plantation lads 

 knocked down- surprising 

 numbers of the weakened 

 birds of all kinds and shot 

 any variety that they saw, 

 entirely regardless of size or 

 anything else. 



Fortunately, the third 

 day brought the sun to the 

 rescue; it warmed the air 

 and melted out patches of 

 ground from the snow's 

 clutches so that large and 

 small could feed. Beside the 

 briar patches and hedge rows 

 birds fairly swarmed, rejoic- 

 ing. New, glorious life had 

 suddenly come into things! 



I walked a good many 

 miles and explored many 



^ , TOWHEE so WEAKENED BY HUNGER THAT 



out-of-the-way places but it could not fly 



