‘THE REDPOLL. _ ers 83 
western residents retire into the interior of Alaska to winter, where they 
are able to withstand the fiercest cold. The interior birds retire largely 
to the south, and under the urgency of bad weather sweep into or thru 
eastern Washington in immense numbers. ‘There is also a small movement 
setting in a southwesterly direc- 
tion, so that some birds winter 
regularly on Vancouver Is- 
land, and a few straggle thru 
the Puget Sound country. 
While with us, the Red- 
poll is nowise dependent 
upon the forests, but 
appears to seek the 
more open country 
by preference. It 
subsists chiefly upon 
seeds, gleaning them 
from the ground 
with much pleasant 
chatter, or seeking 
them in their winter —\, ff 
receptacles. Redpoll AY 
again proves kinship 
with Goldfinch by 
eating thistle seeds, 
and with Siskin — 
by his extravagant 
fondness for the 
alder catkin. Red- 
poll’s manner is very 
confiding; and we 
are sure that he 
would not begrudge Brooks. 
us a share of his 
winter viands, if we 
cared for them. The 
author is no yvege- 
tarian, but he is bound to admit that a “simple diet of grains, fruits and 
nuts’ makes for contentment among the birds, even at forty below zero. 
As spring comes on, and the gentle hyperboreans prepare to return to 
their native heather, we see the deep-dyed crimson of full regalia on crown 
and breast. But during the actual breeding season, we are told by a com- 
< 
REDPOLLS IN WINTER. 
