SNOW-BUNTING 



SNOW-SHOES 



537 



migrates northwards early in spring, and south- 

 wards late in autumn. They are first found in 

 small flocks ; their favourite haunts are roadsides, 

 bnt they always take to trees when disturbed. In 

 cold weather they visit farmhouses and villages ; 

 and before a snowstorm they assemble in large 

 flocks, visiting barn-yards, and hopping about with 

 the domestic poultry and small birds. The song of 

 the male in the breeding season consists of a few 

 very low, sweet warbling notes. From its frequent 

 familiar approach to human habitations, the snow- 

 bird is regarded with favour throughout great part 

 of North America, as the Redbreast is in Britain. 

 The name is also given to all the species of the 

 fringilline genus Junco, including 7. hiemalis, found 

 both in the United States and in Canada. 



Snow-bunting, or SNOWFLICK (Plectrophenax 

 nivalis), a bird of the Finch family (Fringillidse), 

 Bunting sub-family (Emberizinse), abundant in 

 summer in the Arctic regions generally, where it 

 has been found nesting nearly as far north as man 

 has reached ; in winter migrating southwards to 



Snow-banting ( Plectrophenax nivalit). 



Georgia in North America, to Japan, northern 

 China, Turkestan, southern Russia, the northern 

 shores of the Mediterranean, and Morocco. In 

 Iceland it abounds all the year round ; in the 

 Faroes it is common in winter, and many remain 

 to breed ; in the British Isles it occurs in large 

 flocks in winter, and it has also been found nest- 

 ing on high mountains in Sutherland and in the 

 Shetland*. It is a bird about 64 inches long; 

 plumage black and white ; bill, legs, and feet 

 black ; but in autumn the feathers of the upper 

 parts are broadly edged with dull chestnut, the 

 bill ia yellow with a black tip, and the bird is then 

 known as the Tawny Bunting. In habits it differs 

 in several respects from the true buntings : it runs 

 rapidly on the ground, it also hops, and not infre- 

 quently perches on trees ; and the song of the male 

 while the female is on the nest is a low, melodious 

 warble. The food in summer consists of insects, 

 in winter of seeds. The nest, made of dry grass 

 and moss, and lined with hair and feathers, is in 

 northern breeding haunts placed on the ground 

 not far above the sea-level ; but in more southern 

 latitudes it is generally built in rocks on the rugged 

 ides of mountains. The snow-bunting is generally 

 very fat, and is highly esteemed for the table. 

 The Greenlanders kill great numbers, and dry 

 them for winter use. See the article BUNTING. 



Snowdon, a mountain-range in Carnarvon- 

 shire, North \Vales, stretches in a north-east-by- 

 north direction from a point 5 miles N. of Criccieth, 

 near the head of Cardigan Bay, to near Conway, 

 bat is broken np by valleys and river-courses into 

 five distinct summits, the chief of which, Moel-y- 

 Wydilfa ( ' conspicuous peak '), the highest mountain 

 in south Britain, was shown by the new Ordnance 



map of 1889 to rise only 3560 (not 3571 ) feet above 

 sea-level, and is crowned by two huts, the ' Hotel." 

 Seen from the top, Moel-y-Wyddfa, the ' King of 

 Snowdonia,' appears to send out three ridges, 

 which gradually divide and subdivide, giving birth 

 to numerous valleys and corries. Its ascent is 

 effected from Llanberis (on the north), Beddgelert 

 (on the south), Snowdon Ranges station (on the 

 west), and Capel Curig (on the east). The first is 

 short (5 miles) and the easiest a railway was 

 opened in 1896; the last the longest (9 miles) and 

 most difficult, but far the grandest. ' Snowdonia ' 

 was made a royal forest by Edward I. of England, 

 and disafforested in 

 1649. In 1889 Sir E. 

 W. Watkin purchased 

 Snowdon for 5750. 

 See Huson, Round 

 about Snowdon (1893). 

 Snowdon was also an 

 old name for Stirling. 



Snowdrop ( Galan- 

 thus), a genus of plants 

 of the natural order 

 Amaryllidese, of the 

 same tribe with Amaryl- 

 lis, Snowflake, Crinum, 

 &c. The three outer 

 segments of the peri- 

 anth spread, so as to 

 make a bell-shaped 

 flower ; the three inner 

 are shorter, erect, and 

 notched at the summit. 

 The flowers arise from 

 a spathe. The root is 

 bulbous, and produces 

 two leaves and one 

 single-flowered leafless 

 stem (scape). The 

 Common Snowdrop ( G. 

 nivalis), a plant too 

 well known to need 

 description, is a native 

 chiefly of the south of 

 Europe, growing in 

 woods and pastures. 

 It is found apparently 

 wild in some places 



both in England and Scotland, but is probably 

 rather naturalised than native, having long been 

 much cultivated in gardens. This welcome har- 

 binger of spring flowers usually in Britain in Feb- 

 ruary and March. Another species of snowdror> 

 (G. plicatus), with much broader leaves, is found 

 in the south of Russia and in Asiatic Turkey. 



Snow-shoes, a species of shoe whose broad 

 surface prevents the foot from 

 sinking in the snow. The Cana- 

 dian snow-shoe (3 to 5 feet long 

 and 1 to 2 feet wide) presents 

 somewliat the shape of a tennis 

 racquet with a short handle behind 

 and long oval body contracted in 

 front. It consists of a light frame 

 of tough wood supporting a web 

 of raw hide, to which, on the widest 

 part, the foot is fastened by 

 thongs, which leave the heel free. 

 The Norwegian ski is simply a 

 long, narrow wooden runner (5 

 to 10, but usually 8 feet long, 

 by some 4 inches wide), about 

 1 inch thick at the middle, but 

 thinner towards the ends, and 

 turned up in a curve at the 

 front (sometimes slightly at the back alao). 



Common Snowdrop 

 ( Oalanthus nivalit). 



Snow-shoe, 



