Tue Aroostook PARTRIDGE. 53 

*¢ No indeed, this is their warmest place to sleep in a cold 
night. Watch the others; there they go every one of them, 
landing but a few feet apart; they imitate the mother move- 
ment exactly, under the snow and out of sight, every one. 
Wait one moment more and watch. See! the old one has 
just poked her nose out and is looking the situation over.” 
Three or four more little black heads are pushed up a little 
through their white blankets; one gives a little twittering 
sound, which is good-night, when the dark heads all disappear. 
The snow closes in after them, and unless one had watched 
their movements or knew of their ways, he would never mis- 
trust what made the many now nearly closed openings in the 
snow, where they scooted in and under, about three or four 
feet from where each one is cuddled with its head beneath 
its wing. 
We often hear the boys say, ‘‘such heavy crusts this winter, 
we fear the birds will all be frozen under the snow.” Yet 
they seem just as plenty again the next fall; afew birds may 
be too long imprisoned, and but a very few, for the crusts 
very soon become friabie after more snows fall upon them. 
Occasionally the fox and the fisher helps them out if they 
scent them, and yet, these smart fellows do not always 
succeed in getting them, as we have noticed by reading their 
movements, by the signs on the light snow over the crust. 
‘¢ What is meant by a drummer; does he drum in the fall? 
How does he drum?” Occasionally they do a little drum- 
ming in the fall but nothing compared with their spring-time 
drumming. We were speaking of their courting and pairing 
off in the fall, and at this time the young males practice their 
first at the drumming and calling the lady bird. One must 
laugh to see him parade himself, raise the black ruffle about 
