4 o 



February Feathers 



[FIRST WEEK 



of all our owls, for the saw-whet is a dreadfully sleepy 

 fellow in the daytime. I knew of eleven of these little 

 gray gnomes dozing in a clump of five small cedars. 



The cedars are treasure-houses in winter, and many 

 birds find shelter among the thick foliage, and feast upon 



the plentiful supply of ber- 

 ries, when elsewhere there 

 seems little that could 

 keep a bird's life in its 

 body. When the tinkling 

 of breaking icicles is taken 

 up by the wind and re- 

 echoed from the tops of 

 the cedars, you may know 

 that a flock of purple 

 finches is near, and so 

 greedy and busy are they 

 that you may approach 

 within a few feet. These 

 birds are unfortunately 

 named, as there is noth- 

 ing purple about their 

 plumage. The males are 

 a delicate rose-red, while 



the females look like commonplace sparrows, streaked all 

 over with black and brown. 



There are other winter birds, whose home is in the 

 North, with a similar type of coloration. Among the 

 pines you may see a flock of birds, as large as a sparrow, 

 with strange-looking beaks. The tips of the two mandibles 



SAW-WHET OWL 



