382 Slate-colored Junco 



As they feed they continually utter quiet little notes of content- 

 ment, which upon being alarmed change to sharp hissing sounds that 

 I have known people to think were caused by the bird snapping its 

 bill. 



Like all birds that spend the winter where snows fall there come 



times when the Juncos are hard pressed for food, and probably never 



a winter passes without many of them dying from lack of food and 



from exposure. Thus one may see very good reason exists why people 



should put food where they can readily find it. These birds will often 



eat bread crumbs, but small seeds are what they 



Feed the Junco prefer. The kind of bird seed one may buy at a 



store is good for hungry Juncos, but seeds raised in 



the garden will answer the purpose just as well. I will name some of 



them ; sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, millet, oats, cracked wheat, and 



cracked corn will readily be taken by them. A little trouble and a very 



little expense is all that is necessary to tide the Juncos through a time 



of famine and keep them alive and well until better times arrive. 



It should be borne in mind that all small birds are in constant 

 danger of being captured and killed by Hawks, Owls, cats, and other 

 creatures that prey upon them. When weak from lack of food the 

 little Junco is in poor condition to escape its enemies. I recall one 

 February when snow fell heavily for two or three days and was fol- 

 lowed by a sleet that left a crust over the top of the snow. Also it 

 broke down and buried the weecf stalks which still held their store 

 of seeds. Throughout the whole country there was practically no 

 food for the Junco. 



One evening upon returning late to the house I caught sight of a 

 small bird that flew up to roost on the top of one of the pillars sup- 

 porting the wide veranda of my home. On the little projection per- 

 haps three inches wide and protected from the wind it crouched down 

 to spend the night. An hour later I came out with a light and ap- 

 proached close enough to see that my little visitor was a Junco. I 

 put some cracked wheat on the wide veranda railing close by and 

 hoped the bird would find it when it awoke in the morning, but the 

 wind increased in violence and more sleet fell during the night, so I 

 am sure not a grain of it was left for our little visitor when he opened 

 his eyes at daylight. 



It so chanced that the next evening just as I came up the steps the 

 Junco alighted on the veranda railing and attempted to fly up to the 

 top of the pillar, but it was so weak that it was un- 

 The Fate able to gain its perch and fell to the floor. Cau- 

 of the Visitor tiously I advanced thinking to secure the bird and 

 feed it in the house. It flew out in the yard, how- 

 ever, and was soon lost in some low shrubbery. The next morning 

 its feathers were scattered over the veranda. A cat had caught it and 

 brought it there to eat. 



John James Audubon, writing of the Junco as he knew it in Louis- 

 iana said : 



