Sept., l.ss-i.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



157 



Field Glass. 



Dnriiifj; our Winter's walk, besides the 

 Pine Linnet, we sbiill tind in this part of 

 Eastern Connecticut the Slate-colored 

 Snow Bird. Tree Sj)arrows. Black cajiped 

 Chicadees, occasionally Shrikes, Blue Jays. 

 Goldtin(^hes, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Gol- 

 den-wiuged. Downy and Hairy Woodpeck- 

 ers, Nuthat<'lies. Brown-tree creepers. Blue 

 Birds. Partridges, Quails, Crows and 

 Hawks. Now and then \\Tiite-throated 

 Sparrows. Cedar Birds. Song Sparrows, 

 Eobins and Purple Finches may be seen, 

 and the Gulls will move up and down the 

 river as long as it remains open. 



The above is a fair list to begin with. 

 Some of those already known may be 

 studied for descriptive points, and to fa- 

 miliarize one with the text book or key. 

 The method of study is soon acquired, 

 and it is but a step from the known to 

 imknown birds. 



There are some constant features about 

 all V)irds. and these are to be sought for in 

 watching the bird on the groimd, bush or 

 tree, and at the same time we can ascer- 

 tain what it feeds upon. If the ground 

 has been long covered with snow, and 

 somewhat cold, evei-y shrub or tree with 

 l)erries, and every patch of dry weeds and 

 grasses has a particular value not quite so 

 noticeable at other times. Chicadees, and 

 even Crows, when hard pushed, as well as 

 Pine Linnets, will feed on bayberry wax. 

 Quails will now leave theii' bushy coverts 

 and seek the green smUax vines that over- 

 run our walls and outlying shrul)bery, and 

 feed on theii' blackish berries, which are 

 somewhat nauseating to the taste, and 

 after a meal of this kind, quail flesh, though 

 not poisonous, is not verj- jjalatable food, 

 and often causes severe cases of sickness. 



Of all the berry bearing trees the juni 

 pers are most valuable to many Winter 

 birds, and a section of country withoiit 

 these will be a poor place for out-door 

 study. Purple Finches. Goldtinches. Ce- 



dar Birds and Robins are often found 

 among them when seen nowhc^'c else. A 

 flock of Robins may be frequently seen 

 eating these berries, appaiently so fam- 

 ished as to pay but little attention to a 

 person a dozen feet away. Sometimes 

 during vei-y cold weather our vine-clad 

 verandas are \'isited by Blue Birds in 

 (juest of the Virginia-creeper berries, and 

 in localities where these berries are abun- 

 dant, we may look with some success for 

 Blue Birds. On warm, sunny days, when 

 the groimd is bare, we flnd them around 

 old orchards, exploring old quarters, as if 

 anticipating the coming season ; then they 

 are on the alert for stray insects and the 

 yomig grasshopper. Frequently grass- 

 hoppers may be seen in several hours from 

 the time a jJatch of grass ground is denud- 

 ed of snow. 



There is a familiar weed that grows in 

 everj' garden and on plowed ground, or by 

 the road side, called ambrosia or ragweed, 

 sometimes pigweed, which affords an am- 

 ple supply of small seeds. The same may 

 be said of the evening primrose, and the 

 many varieties of Paniciun. and other 

 dried grasses, that grow upon comparative- 

 ly waste places. We shall find Tree Spar- 

 rows. Goldfinches and Slate colored Snow 

 Birds frequenting these plants diuing the 

 Winter mouths often when the ground 

 is covered with a hard cnist of snow. 

 Then one may fully appreciate the value 

 of the upright stalks with their beneficent 

 harvest of seeds. Goldfinches will pick the 

 seeds out of the capsule of the evening 

 primrose, and Tree Sparrows will give the 

 stalk a gentle shake and jjick the seeds up 

 as they fall. 



All cone bearing trees fiu'uish more or 

 less food for birds in Winter. Cross-bills 

 resort to hemlocks and pines, and Gold- 

 finches and Puiijle Finches are sometimes 

 found at work on the cherry or black birch. 



There is a spot on the river just below 

 Thamesville where the gulls resort in con- 

 siderable numbers, and are often seen 



