Across the Fields. 247 



inner tail feathers, and the terminal half of all of the larger and part of the 

 smaller wing feathers, which are black, The female, at this season, has 

 the entire upper parts streaked with black. The black parts of the wings in 

 the male are replaced by dusky. 



In the winter there is a general suffusion of rusty brown over the upper 

 parts, the black of the back showing through and giving a streaked appear- 

 ance to that part. The wings and tail are similarly suffused. The under 

 parts are white, except on the breast, sides, and flanks, which are washed with 

 rusty brown. 



The birds nest on the ground, building a structure of mosses, grasses, 

 and various plant fibres and some feathers. The eggs are bluish white, vary- 

 ing from sparsely speckled to heavily marked and washed with varying shades 

 of brown. They are about nine tenths of an inch long and rather more than 

 three fifths of an inch broad. 



These birds are found throughout the northern parts of the Northern 

 Hemisphere, breeding in the Arctic regions. They migrate into the northern 

 United States in the fall and winter and are found generally in large flocks 

 as far south as New Jersey and Virginia on the coast and Southern Illinois 

 and Kansas in the interior. 



There are two kinds of Redpolls that visit the United States in win- 

 ter, and which breed in the northern parts of the continent. One kind is 

 represented by two, and the other by three geographical races, which will be 

 noticed in detail later. 



In general appearance all these birds are similar, having as characteristic 

 features in their adult plumage deep pinkish red crowns, a more or less de- 

 fined dusky throat patch, a suffusion of rosy color on the whitish rump and 

 breast, extending in individuals to the sides. The wings and tail are dusky. 

 The upper parts are streaked with dusky and yellowish browns, except in the 

 region indicated, and the belly is white. The sides and flanks are streaked 

 with dusky. Female birds have little or no rosy shading on rump and breast. 



They vary somewhat in size, but are all close to five inches in length. 



They breed in low bushes, or on the ground in grass tussocks. The 

 nest is made of grasses, dry mosses, and like material, and is lined with plant 

 down, feathers, and hair. The eggs are bluish or greenish white, spotted 

 with reddish brown. They vary in number, from four to six, and are more 

 than three fifths of an inch long, and about half an inch broad. 



