BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 319 



station at times upon the roofs of houses. Till they are per ;e- 

 cuted for the sake of their flesh, they are disposed to be on the 

 best possible terms with man ; but as they are considered the 

 harbingers of very severe weather, they meet but a cold wel- 

 come. Their flight is swift, and well sustained ,• they seem to 

 enjoy the fierce and angry winds ; but careless of cold as they 

 are, and apparently well protected, they are sometimes so 

 chilled as to be unable to escape from those who pursue them. 

 In Labrador, where they are called While Birds, they feed on 

 seeds and insects, but while here, they must depend for their 

 subsistence almost entirely on seeds. For this purpose they 

 often alight on trees, but are seldom seen in the woods. Like 

 the larks, they live much on the ground. 



The summer dress of the snow bunting is pure white and 

 black ; but they are not seen with this plumage here. Their 

 appearance here is various ; but generally they are white and 

 rusty brown. In the summer they are said to sing sweetly, 

 but their strains are wasted on the desert air. Some have been 

 known to rear their young in the White Mountains of New 

 Hampshire. 



The Black-throated Bunting, Emberiza Americatia, is 

 found in high meadow^s near the salt water marshes, from the 

 middle of May till the last of August, when it returns to the 

 south, and spends the winter in countries beyond the bounda- 

 ries of the Union. Early in summer, they feed on caterpillars 

 and insects, and are among the destroyers of the pernicious 

 canker-worm. Their note is constantly heard from every level 

 field of grass or grain : they often perch on some Ioav tree, and 

 there for a long time breathe out their simple and unpretending 

 song. At these times, they may be approached Avithout taking 

 wing ; they seem to be friendly to man, to other birds, and to 

 each other. In August they become silent, and not long after, 

 leave us for the south, going beyond the extremity of the 

 Union. 



The Scarlet Tanager, Tanagra rubra, is a splendid sum- 



