THE REDPOLL. 



83 



western residents retire into tiie interior of iVlaska to winter, wiiere they 

 are able to withstand tlie 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 countr\- 

 by preference. It 

 subsists chiefly upoii 

 seeds, gleaning them 

 from the ground 

 with much pleasant 

 chatter, i:ir seeking 

 them in their winter 

 receptacles. Redpoll 

 again proves kinship 

 with (joldfinch by 

 eating thistle seeds, 

 and with Siskin 

 by his extravagant 

 fondness fnr the 

 alder catkin. Red- 

 poll's manner is very 

 confiding ; and we 

 are sure that he 

 would not begrudge 

 us a share of his 

 winter viands, if we 

 cared for them. The 

 author is no vege- 

 tarian, but he is lx)und 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 dee|)-dyed crimson of full regalia on crown 

 and breast. Rut during the actual lireeding season, we are told by a com- 



^rool^. 



RICnrOI.LS IN WINTER. 



