CHRISTMAS WITH THE BIRDS 



745 



WITH US THROUGHOUT THE YEAR 



Some of the winter birds are those that come 

 down from the North, but others are species 

 which have nested in the vicinity and prefer 

 braving the winter to moving South. Here 

 are a hairy woodpecker and a white breasted 

 Nuthatch. 



Lastly there are the carnivorous 

 birds, the hawks, the owls and the 

 shrikes that feed upon other birds 

 or upon small rodents. 



In the northern states where the 



K 



snows are deep, the field birds are 

 always few in number. Some win- 

 ters they are almost absent though 

 not because of the severity of the 

 winter, but usually because it is so 

 mild in the far north that it is not 

 necessary for them to come so far 

 south even as northern United 

 States. In the southern United 

 States where snows are infrequent 

 and there is an abundance of seed 



A WINTER ROBIN 



In the south robins are common all winter, 

 but in the snow states only an occasional bird 

 is found in sheltered spots where berries are 

 plentiful. 



AS THE CROW WALKS 



If he flew no straighter than he walks the old 

 adage would have little meaning. Note the 

 narrow angle made by the toes, the mark of 

 the hind toes and the dragging of the feet, all 

 of which are characteristic of Jim's tracks. 



available all through the winter, the 

 numbers of field birds is often large 

 for most of the seed-eating species 

 that nest in the northern states are 

 content to go on further south than 

 the southern states for the winter. 

 Of the snow-loving species, none 

 is more typical than the snow bunt- 

 ing whose very coloration is sug- 



A NORTHERN SHRIKE OR BUTCHER BIRD 



Many of the winter birds are erratic in their 

 wanderings and are not seen every winter. Last 

 winter there was an invasion of Shrikes over 

 the entire Northeast. This bird was attracted 

 by the mouse fastened in the thornbush. 



gestive of an animated snow flurry. 

 The more blustery the day, the 

 better they seem to like it as they 

 crouch or run across the crust or 

 take wing with a sweet rolling 



PEEK A-BOO IN BIRD LAND 



A downy woodpecker and a chickadee are un- 

 certain as to the nature of the bird on the 

 opposite side of the tree. 



