238 BIRD PARADISE 



they have. At that time they dress in brilliant 

 colors and go about happy as the day is long. 

 When the nesting season is over they all put on 

 new suits. Curious that the females renew theirs 

 in precisely the same sober color that distin- 

 guishes them in the opening of the season. 

 Curious, too, that the males should wear the 

 brighter colors. But stranger yet, the new suit 

 of the male is precisely like that of the female. 

 All the winter through they sport together, 

 dressed in suits of olive green — the males shifting 

 back to the summer suits when the spring opens. 

 They are among the brightest of our winter birds. 

 I see them frequently in a field, where the waving 

 stalks of grass and weeds offer them an inviting 

 feast. Their manner of taking it savors of the ut- 

 most freedom. The table is a wide one, and the 

 guests go from seat to seat, uttering their winter 

 call and feasting to their hearts' content. I am 

 told that like the snow-buntings they frequently 

 make their bed in the snow — the soft robe of 

 crystals folding about their little forms giving 

 abundant warmth and protection. 



The winter story of the partridges is a book of 

 the swamp fastnesses well worth perusing. If the 



