i.K. THE SNOWFLAKE^ 



cartli tiiuartl lieaxen. 1 liclil my hn-atli and listfiicd to the Tiiilrl l)al)fl of 

 tiit-tit-iit-ti">.s, witli wliicli llie Snow Huntings jjrected inc. Tlie l)irils were 

 loatli to leave the place, and liovered indecisively while the hinl-nian devoured 

 thtni with his eyes. As they moved off slowly, each bird seemed alternately 

 to fall and striijjjjle npward thru an arc i>f five or six feet, inde|K-ndently of 

 his fellows, so th.at the (lock as ;i whole ]>roduced {|iiite the effect of ;i trouhled 

 snowstorm. 



Snowllakes Hock indifferently in winter and may occur in numl>ers up 

 to several hundred. At other times a sinf,de, thrilling, vibrant call-note, leti' 

 or /t'-jTi', may \^e heard durinfi^ the fallinj;; of the real flakes, while the 

 wandering mystery jwsses overhead, unseen. Stray birds not infre(|uently 

 mingle with (locking Horned Larks: while Snovvflakes and Lapland Long- 

 spins are fast friciuls in the regions where the latter are common. 



Probably these ])irds are of regiilar tlio sparing occurrence in the Hig 

 Bend and Palnuse countries, but they do not i>ften reach the southern Intrder 

 of the State; and their apix;arance on Puget Sound, as ui»n the ])rairies of 

 Pierce County, is quite unusual. While with us they move aimlessly from 

 field to field in open situations, or glean the weed-seed, which forms their 

 almost exclusive diet. In lime of storm, or when cmlx>ldened by the con- 

 tinuance of winter, they may make their apjiearancc in the barnyartl. or alxiut 

 the outbuildings, where their sprightly notes and inmx-ent airs arc sure to 

 make them welcome. 



It is difficult to conceive how these birds may withstand the frightful 

 temperatures to which they are subjected in a winter u[)on the Saskatchewan 

 plains, and yet they endure this by preference to the effeminizing influences 

 which are l)clievcd to prevail south of "Forty-nine," an<I esjiecially west of 

 the Rockies. Close-knit feathers, the warmest covering known, fortified by 

 layers of fat. render them quite im|>ervious to col<l ; and as for the r.iging 

 blizzard, the birds ha\e only to sit qtiietly imdcr the snow and wait till the 

 blast has blown itself out. 



The sun alone prevails, as in the case of the man with the cloak, and 

 at the first hint of the sun's return to power, these ice-children hasten back 

 to find their chilly cradles. .\ few nest upon the .Meutian Islands, and along 

 the shores of northern Alaska: but more of them resort to those icc-wrai)|KHl 

 islands of the far North, which are mere names to the geographer and dismal 

 memories to a few hardy whalers. Peary's men found them breeding in 

 Melville Land: and if there is a North Pole. In.' assured that some Snowflake 

 is nestling contenledlv at the base of it. 



