THE SNOWFLAKE. 



(^ HIS charming bird comes to us 

 . at a time when his presence 



J] may be truly welcomed and 



—^ appreciated, nearly all our 

 summer companions of the feathered 

 tribe having departed. He might not 

 inappropriately be named the great 

 Snowflake, though in winter he wears 

 a warm brown cloak, with black 

 stripes, brown collar, and a brown and 

 white vest. In summer, however, he 

 is snow white, with black on the back, 

 wings, and tail. He lives all over 

 northern North America, and in the 

 United States as far south as Georgia 



About the first of November, flocks 

 of Snowflakes may be seen arriving, 

 the males chanting a very low and 

 somewhat broken, but very pleasant 

 song. Some call him White Snow- 

 bird, and Snow Bunting, according to 

 locality. The birds breed throughout 

 the Arctic regions of both continents, 

 the National Museum at Washington 

 possessing nests from the most northern 

 points of Alaska, (Point Barrow), and 

 from Labrador, as well as from various 

 intermediate localities. 



These birds are famous seed eaters, 

 and are rarely found in trees. They 

 should be looked for on the ground, in 

 the air, for they are constantly seeking 

 new feeding grounds, in the barn-yard, 

 or about the hay stack, where .seeds 

 are plentiful. They also nest on the 

 ground, building a deep, grassy nest, 

 lined with rabbit fur or feathers, under 

 a projecting ledge of rock or thick 

 bunch of grass. It seems curious that 

 few persons readily distinguish them 

 from their sparrow cousins, as they 

 have much more white about them 

 than any other color. Last November 



multitudes of them invaded Washing- 

 ton Park, settling on the ground to 

 feed, and flying up and scurrying away 

 to successive pastures of promise. 

 With their .soft musical voices and 

 gentle manners, they were a pleasing 

 feature of the late Autumn landscape. 

 " Chill November's surly blast " mak- 

 ing " field and forest bare, " had no 

 terrors for them, but rather spread 

 before them a feast of scattered seeds, 

 winnowed by it from nature's ripened 

 abundance. 



The Snowflakes disappear with the 

 melting of their namesake, the snow. 

 They are especially numerous in snowy 

 seasons, when flocks of sometimes a 

 thousand are seen in the old fields and 

 meadows. It is unusual, though it has 

 been known to breed in the Northern 

 States. In July, 1831, Audubon 

 found it nesting in the White Moun- 

 tains, and Dr. J. A. Allen notes a pair 

 as breeding near Springfield, Mass. 

 The Arctic regions are its nesting place 

 however, and these birds were probably 

 belated on their return migration. 

 The Snowflake and Shorelark are so 

 much alike in habits, that the two 

 species occasionally associate. Ernest 

 E. Thompson says : " Apparently 

 the Snowflakes get but little to eat, 

 but in reality they always find enough 

 to keep them in health and spirits, 

 and are as fat as butter balls. 

 In the mid-winter, in the far north, 

 when the thermometer showed thirty 

 degrees below zero, and the chill 

 blizzard was blowing on the plains, I 

 have seen this brave little bird glee- 

 fully chasing his fellows, and pouring 

 out, as he flew, his sweet voluble song 

 with as much spirit as ever Skylark 

 has in the sunniest davs of June." 



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