A HERMIT'S WILD FRIENDS 



and on the bend of the wing. The back is 

 boldly streaked with black, bay, and light 

 gray. There is much white edging to the 

 feathers of the tail and wings in winter. A 

 few of these birds stopped about the cabin 

 all winter; but a flock numbering hundreds 

 wintered on Bond's Hill. On warm days they 

 roamed over the hill, far and near, always 

 flying low and keeping well down in the 

 shrubby growth. But when the weather was 

 cold I would find them in a sheltered spot, 

 where meadowsweet, bayberry, hardhack, 

 blueberry, huckleberry, and sweet-fern shrubs 

 crowded each other until their interwoven 

 branches held a mantle of snow. Beneath this 

 shelter the birds seemed to find food, for 

 they were busy at all hours of the day. I 

 passed many hours watching them while they 

 were thus secluded. Invariably I found them 

 chirping to each other, and by listening closely 

 I could catch snatches of song low and sweet. 

 The last of March their low song could be 

 heard in the shrub-lands. Later, when the 



