BRITISH BIRDS. 227 



the female, in which this is the predominant colour; 

 the white likewise upon the under parts of her 

 body is less pure than that of the male. This is 

 the description of an individual, but hardly two of 

 them are alike. 



Countries the most northerly, are, during the 

 summer months, the favourite abodes of this hardy 

 bird. With us it is chiefly met with in the 

 northern parts of the island, where it is called the 

 Snowflake; it appears in great flocks in the snowy 

 season, and is said to be the certain harbinger of 

 severe weather, which drives it from its usual 

 haunts. This bird has been caught in various 

 parts of Yorkshire, and is frequently met with in 

 Northumberland: it is found in all the northern 

 latitudes without exception, as far as our navigators 

 have been able to penetrate. Great flocks have 

 been seen upon the ice near the shores of Spitz- 

 bergen. They are known to breed in Norway, 

 Iceland, and on the west coast of Greenland, at 

 Hare Island. They were also found to be very 

 numerous in the North Georgian Islands, where 

 they are amongst the earliest arrivals. They have 

 been kept in cages for two or three years, and feed 

 freely on white bird seed. The female makes her 

 nest in fissures of the rocks; the outside is com- 

 posed of grass, within which is a layer of feathers, 

 and the down of the arctic fox composes the lining 

 of the comfortable little mansion; she lays five 

 white eggs, spotted with brown. 



These birds do not perch, but continue always- 

 on the ground, and run about like Larks, to which 

 they are similar in size, manners, and in the length 

 of their hinder claws, whence they have been 



