SNOW BUNTING. 197 



" few breed there, for I had one shot for me at Invercauld, the 

 " fourth of August. But there is a certainty of their migration; 

 " for multitudes of them fall, wearied with their passage, on 

 "the vessels that are sailing through the Pentland frith.* 



" In their summer dress they are sometimes seen in the 

 " south of England;! the climate not having severity sufficient 

 " to affect the colours; yet now and then a milk white one ap- 

 (( pears, which is usually mistaken for a white Lark. 



" Russia and Siberia receive them in their severe seasons an- 

 " nually, in amazing flocks, overflowing almost all Russia. 

 " They frequent the villages, and yield a most luxurious repast. 

 " They vary there infinitely in their winter colours, are pure 

 " white, speckled, and even quite brown. This seems to be 

 " the influence of difference of age more than of season. 

 " Germany has also its share of them. In Austria they are 

 " caught and fed with millet, and afford the epicure a treat equal 

 " to that of the Ortolan." 



These birds appear in the northern districts of the United 

 States, early in December, or with the first heavy snow, particu- 

 larly if drifted by high winds. They are usually called the White 

 Snow-bird, to distinguish them from the small dark bluish Snow- 

 bird already described. Their numbers increase with the increas- 

 ing severity of weather, and depth of snow. Flocks of them 

 sometimes reach as far south as the borders of Maryland; and 

 the whiteness of their plumage is observed to be greatest to- 

 wards the depth of winter. They spread over the Gennesee 

 country and the interior of the district of Maine, flying in close 

 compact bodies, driving about most in a high wind; sometimes 

 alighting near the doors, but seldom sitting long, being a roving, 

 restless bird. In these plentiful regions, where more valuable 

 game is abundant, they hold out no temptation to the sports- 

 man or hunter; and except the few caught by boys in snares, 

 no other attention is paid to them. They are, however, univer- 

 sally considered as the harbingers of severe cold weather. How 



* Bishop POCOCK'S Journal, MS. \ BELL'S Travels, 1, 198. 



f MORTON'S Northamp. p. 427, KRAMER, Anim. Austr. 372, 



