41)0 ^UKTH AMEUrCAX BIRDS. 



liiiiisclf Ixddly on tlie top of a plant, as it' to be niort' plainly heard by his 

 companions. In early spriiij^" they teed on the catkins of the alder and 

 ha/cl. TIk'V winter in small tlocks in Vancouver's Island. 



Ildlboll states tliat this species is tbuntl irregularly distriliuted over Green- 

 land, coming always in the tirst half of A]>ril, a little later than the Snow- 

 r»ui\ting. It migrates to (Ireenhind from America, and is nnuh rarer in Ice- 

 land. In June it is found nesting near tlie shore, and, contrary to the usual 

 nature of birds, is very wild, though at all times tdso it is very fearless. At 

 this time ihe male loses its beautiful crimson breast, resembles the female, 

 and is nuich less gorgeous than in winter. It nests in lurches, aldei-s, or 

 willows, and lays live bluish-wliite t*ggs, spotted with clear Inown. Towards 

 the end of August and in September they are seen in small tlocks about tlie 

 settlements, the male resuming its red breast, and all, botli old and young, 

 being very fearless. In confinement they soon l)ecanie very tame, and in a 

 few days would perch upon his hand and struggle witli each other for the 

 hemp-seed that he held to them, though there was plenty of food in their 

 cage. They feed on seeds and the toi)S of lichens. iJy October they all 

 disappear, and are not seen in (Jreenland in the winter. 



"Wilson states that, in his day, these birds were very common in Xorth- 

 western New York, where they appeared always with the first deep snow, 

 and were, on that account, called Snow-Birds. In severe winters they were 

 occasionally, though very rarely, seen in the neighborhood of rhiladelphia, 

 where, they were very ft)n(l of tlie seeds of the common alder, and hung head 

 downwards while feeding, in the manner of our (Joldtinch. They were very 

 unsuspicious, and permitted a near approach without manifesting ni-^* signs 

 of alarm. ^Ir. Ord, in a subse<pieiit edition of Wilson, states that these 

 birds rarely visit rhiladelphia, and that it was many before he could 



procure specimens. In the winter of 1813 - 14 they ap^ ared in a flock of 

 nearly a hundred, and were so intent in feeding upon the seeds of the Ati^i- 

 ple,v hastata that they could be closely approached. Their call exactly re- 

 sembled that of the (ioldfinch. These birds limbered in that neighborhood 

 until about the middle of April. 



Their migration southward in winter is evidently caused more by want of 

 food than by the state of the temperature. They remain in high northern 

 regions in the niost inclement weather, and often appear among ns in seasons 

 not remarkably cold, and remain until late in the sjiring. In 1833, by the 

 7th of Noveml)er, the weather still being rpiite mild, Xuttall states, they ap- 

 peared in Massachusetts in considemble flocks. They regularly assendded in 

 the birch-trees every morning to feed on the seeds, and were so intent on 

 their employment that it was often i)ossible to approach the slender trees on 

 which they were feeding, and strike them off, before they would take wing. 

 They hung on the twigs with great tenacity, and moved about in reversed 

 positions, in the manner of the Chickadees. They are des(»ribed by him as 

 having a (quailing call, similar to that of the Goldfinch, and when crowding 



