16 



Winter Birds. 



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Birds may be found in sheltered places all through the winter. 

 The snow bunting, however, habitually seeks open, grassy fields, 

 far from all cover. Many birds find winter shelter in pine 

 thickets, or roost in cedar swamps. A farmyard with a dense 

 growth of coniferous trees close at hand, with thickets or bushy 

 roadsides nearby, should be good hunting ground. In winter 

 birds often seek a thicket in some valley or ravine along a 

 stream in preference to high open woods. A long thicket at 

 the foot of a southern slope of a wooded hill next to a meadow 

 makes a good winter refuge. Sheltered, tangled patches of 

 goldenrod and other weeds, old gardens, sheltered low pastures 

 overgrown with bushes, alders and birches, and all places where 

 people feed birds should be examined in winter. One who 

 knows the natural food of winter birds and where to find it has 

 a great advantage. For example, crossbills frequent larch, 

 pitch pine, spruce and other coniferous trees when these trees 

 bear seed. Goldfinches and redpolls feed on the seed of the 

 common birch. Many birds feed largely on berries produced 

 by shrubs, vines, or trees that retain their fruit in winter. 



In winter the greatest number of species and individuals may 

 be found near the seashore in Massachusetts, particularly near 

 the southeastern coast, which lies not far from the Gulf Stream 

 and has a milder winter climate and less snow than the rest of 

 the State. The coast region of Bristol, Plymouth and Barn- 

 stable counties, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and the Eliza- 



