92 SOME CANADIAN niHDS. 



■Ame June dAyn. It in an nxquinitoly swoot and tender strain, 

 and in Bung in Huch H<>ft tonuH it muHb l)o intvndod for one 

 oar alono, for it ciinnot be huurd a dozun yards liway. Tlie bird 

 does not sing tlum l)«caiiHu hu lacks Htrongth of voice, for hiH 

 winter Hong in loud and vigorouH jimt such a breezy enrol as you 

 might expect from a stalwart fellow who loves the north wind and 

 revels amid the snow. 



WHITE-WTNCED CHOaSIUT^L 



Besides the song-birds that are resident in this country — chick- 

 Adeus, nuthatches, kinglets, and in the more southern dibtricts, 

 other specieH — there are yet others that are seen here in the winter 

 only. They Hpend the summer beyond the northern limit of the 

 settled districts and come to our neigh]>orhood as a winter resort, 

 just as many of our summer birds resort to the West Indies. Large 

 flocks of tree sparrows and red-poll linnets are seen when the 

 ground is covered with snow, but at no other season. Dainty little 

 things they are, seeming too frail to stand the wintry blasts, yet 

 they are extremely lively and merry while with us. In the same 

 winter months the shrike comes also, with his ghastly, butcher- 

 like method of impaling his prey upon thorn spikes and branches. 

 You may not know that for all his coarse ways and fierce character, 

 this fighting fellow is an expert musician — fit to be classed with our 

 great songsters. His voice is sweet and of considerable compass and 

 his execution compares favorably with the best. Besides his own 

 song, which is an exquisite melody, he is a mimic of such ability 

 that in some parts of the country he is called mocking bird. Other 

 birds come to us in the winter — but of them again, for I am 

 wandering. 



Of all our winter birds none are more interesting than the cross- 

 bills. There are two species — the common or American crossbill, 

 a dull red bird, and the white-winged. The adult male of the 

 latter is handsomely costumed. His general plumage is a roseate 

 hue, clouded on the back with dull brown. The wings and tail are 

 blackish, the wings bearing two bars of white. The under parts are 

 dull white, streaked with brown. The female is dull olive, somewhat 



