SOME BIRDS OF THE HEIGHTS 83 



hopelessly covered with snow. The white feathers in 

 the long wings catch the eye, and the flight often 

 looks like a series of bounds through the air. They 

 change their direction often, as if they were seeking 

 something, which is no doubt the case. For when 

 they reach a bare stubble field they sink to the ground 

 and begin eagerly to eat little seeds and perhaps an 

 occasional small insect. In summer they live on the 

 mosquitoes and midges so common in North Scan- 

 dinavia and similar countries. There is something 

 very attractive in these winter visitors, in their sug- 

 gestion of snowflakes in the air and in their soft notes 

 as they fly. Some naturalists have compared their 

 flight, when they are not " rushing," to that of butter- 

 flies, and it is quite possible that the resemblance is of 

 protective value. More plausible, however, is the 

 suggestion that the white patches of the plumage, 

 especially in winter, make the flying bird a difficult 

 target for the Hawk. The common name " Snow- 

 flake " suggests the resemblance of the flying bird to 

 a feathery flake driven by the wind, and we have often 

 seen the visitors appear suddenly above our heads 

 flying southwards in front of an approaching snow- 

 blizzard. We must not say more, but those who climb 

 on the northern Scottish " Bens " should look out in 

 the summer for the Snow Buntings still compara- 

 tively few and far between who have chosen to spend 

 the whole year in our country. 



A common but shy little bird of the heather-covered 

 moors and mountains is the Twite (Linota flavirostris, 

 which translated into Scots is " Yellowneb Untie"). It 

 gets many names indeed Mountain Linnet, Heather 

 Lintie, and Twite, the last referring to the single 



