a few Shore Larks, as they were formerly called, 

 are venturesome enough to take the chances of 

 being caught by a "cold snap" or heavy snows. 

 But they are never numerous unless the winter 

 be exceptionally mild and free from snow. With 

 the blighter suns and melting middays of late 

 February almost always a few have pushed as 

 far north as Hennepin county and their hopeful, 

 spring-like song seems at times strangely out of 

 place with piles of snow and ice still unmelted. 

 This is the very first of our ground-nesting birds 

 to build and not infrequently the frail structure 

 may be found beside a drift of snow and all too 

 often this hasty action is doomed to failure 

 through the freezing and bursting of the eggs. 



The black stripe under the eye, the black 

 breast-patch, and the little black tufts or "horns" 

 on either side of the head will suffice to distin- 

 guish this bird; nearly 8 inches in length. 



A sub-species called Hoyt's Horned Lark has 

 been taken in Western Minnesota (.Klljert Lano). 

 It is larger and yellower and breeds north of the 

 United States. 



*3. CROW (Corvus brachyrhynchos brachy- 

 rhynchos). The Crow may be seen late in the 

 fall migrating southward in great noisy flocks. 

 But a few usually remain in the southern third 

 of the state through the winter if the weather 

 is not too continuously and intensely cold. Oc- 

 casional individuals brave the worst weather, usu- 

 ally in the vicinity of slaughtering places. 



*4. PURPLE FINCH (Carpodacus purpureus 

 purpureas). Occasionally present in small flocks 

 in Southeastern Minnesota, throughout the win- 

 ter when the weather is mild, and sometimes ap- 

 pears in February when the cold is still intense. 

 The male is rosy-red, obscurely streaked; wings 

 and tail brownish. The female and young, dull- 

 colored throughout, body streaked. Length 6i 

 inches; tail forked. 



*S. GOLDFINCH: THISTLE BIRD: "WILD 

 CANARY" (Astragalinus tristis tristis). Usually 

 common in the southern part of the state until 

 the middle of December and frequently seen 

 during the winter, especially if the weather is 

 moderate. Dr. Hvoslef reported them as abund- 

 ant in large flocks at Lanesboro, Fillmore county, 

 all through the mild winters of 1888-1889 and 

 1892-1893, when they, in common with other less 

 hardy species, found plenty of food and shelter 

 in the deep and wooded valley of the Root River. 

 This and the Pine Siskin are especially fond of 

 sunflower seeds, and a patch of the garden variety 

 left standing will attract and hold a goodly assem- 

 lage of thein until the supply is exhausted. The 

 White-breasted Nuthatch will also put in an ap- 

 pearance under such circumstances and take its 

 share, hammering out the kernels in the bark- 

 crevices of a nearby tree. 



The flight is undulating, the call note a queru- 

 lous "per-chic-o-ree," and as spring comes the 

 male sings a varied, pleasing song. 



In winter, a brownish bird with black wings 

 and tail; but toward spring the brown is replaced 

 in the male by bright yellow with a black crown- 

 patch. 



*6. PINE SISKIN: PINE LINNET (Spinus 

 pinus pinus). A bird of wandering erratic habits, 

 sometimes appearing irregularly in small com- 

 panies during mild winters, and occasionally com- 

 mon in December and late February. It is a dull- 

 colored, streaked, nondescript looking bird, to 

 be recognized by the presence of sulphur-yellow 

 patches at the base of the wing and tail feathers. 

 Small, five inches long. 



*7. TREE SPARROW (Spizella monticola 

 monticola). Tliis liorcal nesting bird passes 

 through the state in spring and fall in vast num- 

 bers, and from the migrating fall-host a compara- 

 tively few elect to remain in sheltered nooks in 

 Southern Minnesota through the winter. Too 

 severe weather sends these loiterers on to join 

 the more numerous company in the weedy fields 

 and waste places of Iowa. Wherever they are 

 they gain their sustenance through the winter 

 from the seeds of various plants — mostly noxious 

 weeds. Therefore, they are a valuable asset to 

 the farmer. Prof. F. E. L. Real of the Biological 

 Survey in Washington has estimated, after a 

 careful analysis of all data, that the Tree Sparrow 

 consumes, during its wmter sojourn in the state 

 of Iowa alone, the immense total of 1,750,000 

 pounds, or about 875 tons, of weed seeds. (Year- 

 book of Dept. of Agr. for 1898, page 226). They 

 eat such a large proportion of the seeds of such 

 pests to the farmer as pigeon grass, crabb grass, 

 poverty grass, rush grass, ragweed, pigweed, 

 lamb's quarter, and bindweed, that the small 

 amount of grain and seeds of beneficial grasses 

 taken is of trifling moment. 



A reddish-brown bird, somewhat larger than a 

 Chipping Sparrow, with a chestnut crown and a 

 dark breast spot on the otherwise plain dull white 

 underparts. 



*8. BROWN CREEPER (Certhia familiaris 

 americana). This delicate appearing little bird 

 can usually be found fairly common in South- 

 eastern Minnesota in the early part of the winter, 

 and if the cold does not become too intense a 

 few remain until the many that went further south 

 in the fall return with the other migrants in late 

 March and April. But continued bitter weather 

 during the winter months sends these venture- 

 some ones southward or leads to their destruc- 

 tion. Lawrence L. Lofstrom in his article on 

 birds of Cambridge, Isanti county, says of this 

 species: "Permanent resident. A few winter in 

 the tamarack and spruce woods where they are 



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