/ FRIN(;iLLID.K — TIIK FINCIIKS. 583 



Tlieir food is snijill berries, seeds of giiisses and siiiidl plants, insects, 

 and larvie. They seek the latter on tlie j^ronnil, antl in the winter are said 

 to frequent th(^ ])onltry-yards, and avail themselves of the services of the 

 fowls in turnini,' u]) tlie earth. On the {ground they hop aljont in a peculiar 

 manner, a])parently without niovinij tlieir feet. At ni«,dit and (hninjj; storms 

 they shelter tijemselves in tlie thick Immches of evergreens, and also in 

 stacks of liay and piles of lnushwood. 



During the winter the Snowliird apjiears to W. rather more numerous in 

 the Middle and Southern States than in New England. In tlie former they 

 ap])ear late in October, at first on the borders of woods, searching for fo«»d 

 among the fallen and decaying leaves. Ljiter in the season, as tlu; weather 

 becomes colder, and the snow deprives them of this means of feeding, 

 they resort to the roadsides and feed on the seeds of the taller weeds, 

 and to the farm-houses and farm-yards, and even enter within the limits of 

 large cities, where they l)ecome very tame and familiar. They are much 

 exposed to attacks from several kinds of Hawks, and tlu'. apparent timidity 

 they evince at certain times and places is due to their aj>preliensions (»f 

 this danger. The sudden rustle of- the wings of a harndess fowl will cause 

 the whole Hock to take at once to flight, returning as soon as their alarm is 

 found to be needless, but repeated again and again when the same dreaded 

 sounds are heard. 



Neither Wilson, Nuttall, nor x\i\dnl)on appear to have ever met with the 

 nests or eggs of this bird, though the first met with them breeding l)oth 

 among the AUeghanies, in Virginia, and the highlands of Pennsylvania and 

 New York. In Otsego County, in the latter State, Mr. Edward Ai)pleton 

 was the first to discover and identify their nest and eggs, as cited by ^Ir. 

 Audubon in the third volume of his Birds of America. They were found 

 in considerable numbers in the town of Otsego. Their nests were on 

 the ground in sheltered positions, some of them with covered entrances. 

 Their complement of eggs was four. One of their nests was sent me, and 

 was characteristic of all I have since seen, having an external diameter of 

 four and a half inches and a depth of two. The cavity was deep and capa- 

 cious for the bird. The base and periphery of the nest were made of slender 

 strips of bark, coarse straws, fine roots, and horsehair, lined with fine mosses 

 and the fur of smaller animals. The eggs were of a rounded-oval shape ; 

 their ground-color is a creamy yellowish-white, marked with spots and 

 blotches of a reddish-brown confluent around the larger portion of the egg, 

 but rarely covering either end. They measure .75 by .60 of an inch, not 

 varying in size from those of J. oregonus. 



