KNOWING THE WINTER BIRDS 133 



a crimson patch shining on each head redpolls, 

 from the very far north. But the flock, if not of the 

 goldfinch, are more apt to prove to be the pine siskin, 

 which is ordinarily more common than the redpoll, a 

 heavily streaked little bird, with no color patch, and 

 about the same size. Goldfinches, siskins, and red- 

 polls all resort to trees as well as to open ground, es- 

 pecially along the edge of woods or in second growth, 

 where buds, particularly those of birches, are a great 

 attraction. 



These wandering flocks of the various hardy 

 northern birds will bear careful watching, not only on 

 account of their own peculiar charm, but because with 

 them are sometimes found even rarer strangers. Any 

 flock of redpolls is liable to include a specimen of the 

 hoary redpoll, a much paler bird, which seldom comes 

 as far south as the United States. The flock of com- 

 mon cedar birds sometimes has in it one or more of 

 the rare bohemian waxwing, which resembles the ce- 

 dar bird, but is somewhat larger and has white wing 

 bars and a black throat. 



Snowflakes and horned larks often flock together, 

 and with them one should always look for specimens 

 of the Lapland longspur, a bird of about the same 

 size and sparrowlike in appearance, with more or less 

 black on throat and breast and buff color on the sides 

 of head and neck. Another not common bird which 

 may accompany them or be found in their haunts, 

 especially among the sand dunes and beach grass along 

 the coast, is the Ipswich sparrow. It can readily be 



