SOME OF OUR WINTER BIRDS. 



IN EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS. 



One of our most interesting winter 

 birds and (with the exception of the 

 EngHsh sparrow) perhaps the common- 

 est, is the httle black-cap chicadee. He is 

 frequently seen in one's orchard and 

 around the door, and a stroll into the 

 woods will reveal him at any time. He 

 may be easily distinguished by his jet 

 black cap, his bluish drab back and 

 wings, and a yellow tinge on his downy 

 breast. Cedar trees are a special delight 

 of his and, in the winter season, he may 

 be found in nearly every grove of these 

 evergreens. As one walks along through 

 the woods, he is attracted by their notes, 

 usually the simple, cheerful '*chic-a-dee- 

 ee e e," varied with squeaks and chirps, 

 or if it be in February or March, he may 

 hear a beautiful whistle ("pee-a-wee-a"), 

 and possibly catch a pretty warbling 

 song. They are always lively and cheer- 

 ful and on a gloomy winter day they 

 cause one to forget everything but them 

 and their pleasant notes. They feed prin- 

 cipally on berries and seeds, such as can 

 be found in cold weather when the 

 ground is covered with snow. But our 

 little friends are seldom alone ; as almost 

 constant companions they have the nut- 

 hatches, snowbirds, tree sparrows and 

 goldfinches. 



Another very common cold weather 

 bird is the slate colored snowbird or 

 junco. Bluish slate above and grayish 

 below, with some white tail feathers 

 which show as he flies, he is a pretty 

 sight to behold when one starts a flock of 

 them from some frozen swamp or mead- 

 ow, where they feed upon seeds and ber- 

 ries. _They utter a loud chirp when you 

 disturb them in the winter time, and as 

 they hop about keep up an incessant twit- 

 tering, which are the only notes you will 

 hear from them, unless you are lucky 

 enough to hear their song which they sel- 

 dom sing before starting for their sum- 

 mer homes. When it is stormy or severe- 

 ly cold they come up to one's door and eat 

 bread crumbs and other things which 

 may be thrown out. They are real friend- 

 ly and will come quite near to you, and a 



man once told me that the reason for this 

 was blindness on the part of the birds, 

 and even as he spoke one of the birds flew 

 to a nearby fence and, cocking his head, 

 looked my informer over as if to give 

 him the lie. John B. Tabb has written a 

 short poem, which nicely describes him : 



When snow, like silence visible, 



Hath hushed the summer bird. 

 Thv voice, a never frozen rill 



Of melody, is heard. 

 But when from winter's lethargy 



The buds begin to blow, 

 Thv voice is mute, and suddenly 



Thou vanishest like snow. 



The tree sparrow, one of our most in- 

 teresting sparrows, is another bird who 

 does not fear the winter winds and 

 storms. Although he carries the name 

 of tree sparrow, he is most emphatically 

 a bird of the ground, knd may be seen 

 durmg the winter months in almost any 

 remote patch of plowed ground where 

 there are old weed stalks for him to eat. 

 They are especially addicted to old toma- 

 to fields and seem to delight in the seeds 

 of this plant. This sparrow looks like a 

 large chippy, our door yard neighbor of 

 the summer months, excepting that he 

 has distinguishing white bars across his 

 wings. They travel in large flocks, and 

 where one sees a few of them scratching 

 in the snow, a step too close will scare 

 dozens of them away. They associate 

 considerably with snowbirds and where 

 there are members of one family you will 

 most always find the others either with 

 them or close by. 



One of our prettiest winter birds is the 

 downy woodpecker, his glossy black and 

 white, with the bright red spot on his 

 head, showing up strongly from some 

 tree trunk, where he raps for insects, as 

 he goes up, propping himself with his tail 

 as he works. One notices him by hearing 

 his rapping on a branch or his loud note, 

 which he utters frequently. He delights 

 in boring holes in trees and, especially in 

 the spring, he drills out complete nests 

 which he probably has no intention of 

 ever using. The hairy woodpecker has 



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