ai6 BIRDS 



all other finches, as it is the only white form. It is strictly 

 terrestrial, never alighting in trees, but is sometimes seen on 

 rail fences or on the roofs of outbuildings. Like the horned 

 lark, it walks and does not hop. Snowflakes are of an opti- 

 mistic disposition, considering the scarcity of suitable food 

 during our severe weather, which scarcity often forces them 

 to visit our homes and barnyards. Nevertheless, during 

 zero weather they may be seen playfully chasing each other 

 over the snowdrifts, as do the bobolink during the balmy 

 days of June. But few American collectors have ventured 

 to the far North, where this little bird breeds. Oologists 

 usually obtain the eggs from Iceland. The eggs, number- 

 ing four to seven, are pale greenish-white, lightly blotched 

 with pale brown. 



THE LAPLAND LONGSPUR* 



The Lapland Longspur is a bird that delights in the 

 fresh and bracing air of the Arctic regions of both conti- 

 nents. There it builds its nest, rears its young, and voices 

 its happiness in song. Loving the cool atmosphere of the 

 North, it migrates southward only when its food supply of 

 grain and other seeds is exhausted or becomes covered with 

 snow. During the winter months they are abundant in the 

 interior of the United States as far south as Kansas, and 

 are not uncommon in Texas. 



The Lapland longspurs are highly gregarious. They 

 associate with the horned larks and the snowflakes, though 

 they range somewhat farther south in winter than the latter 

 birds. Not infrequently, when a flock of horned larks is 



