FRINGILLID/K — TIIK FINCHES. 583 



Tlieir food is small borrioa, seeds of fjmsses and small plants, insects, 

 and larviu. Tlioy seek tlio latter on tlic gronnd, and in tlie winter are said 

 to frecinent tlui i)onltry-yards, and avail themselves of the services of the 

 fowls in turninjf n]) the earth. On tiie ground they liop al)nut in a peeuliai 

 manner, a])i)arently without movinj,' tlieir feet. At nigiit and during storms 

 they shelter tliemselves in tiie thielv branches of evergreens, and also in 

 stacks of hay and piles of brushwood. 



During the winter the Snowliird appears to hi) rather more numerous in 

 the Middle and Soutliern States than in New England. In the former tlicy 

 ai)pear late in October, at first on the borders of woods, searching for food 

 among tiie fallen atul decaying leaves. Later in the season, as the weather 

 becomes colder, and tlie snow deprives them of this means of i'eeding, 

 they resort to the roadsides and feed on the seeds of the taller weeds, 

 and to tlie farm-houses and farm-yards, and even enter within the limits of 

 large cities, where they liecome very tame and familiar. They are much 

 exposed to attacks from several kinds of Hawks, and the ai)parent timidity 

 they evince at certain times and places is due to their ai)prehensions of 

 this danger. The sudden rustle of the wings of a harmless fowl will cause 

 the whole Hock to take at once to flight, returning as soon as their aliirm is 

 found to be needless, but repeated again and again when the same dreaded 

 sounds are heard. 



Neither Wilson, Nuttall, nor Audulion appear to have ever met with the 

 nests or eggs of Am bird, though the flrst met with tliem breeding both 

 among the Alleghanies, in Virginia, and the highlands of rennsylvania and 

 New York. In Otsego County, in the latter State, Mr. Edward Ajipleton 

 was the first to discover and identify their nest and eggs, as cited by Mr. 

 Ainlubon in the third volume of his Birds of America. Tliey were found 

 in considerable numbers in the town of Otsego. Their nests were on 

 the ground in sheltered positions, some of them with covered entrances. 

 Their complement of eggs was four. One of their nests was sent me, and 

 was characteristic of all I have since seen, having an external diameter of 

 four and a half inches and a depth of two. The cavity was dec]) and capa- 

 cious for the bird. The base and periphery of the nest were made of slender 

 strips of bark, coarse straws, fine roots, and horsehair, lined with fine mosses 

 and the fur of smaller animals. The eggs were of a rounded-oval shape ; 

 their ground-color is a creamy yellowish-white, marked with spots and 

 blotches of a reddish-brown confluent around the larger portion of the egg, 

 but rarely covering either end. They measure .75 by .GO of an inch, not 

 varying in size from those of J. oregoiius. 



