o beneath. If you watch them on the ground, 

 you will see that they have a curious way of 

 Q^ moving about, like a golden-winged wood- 

 Cnnspnas pecker in the same position. Now they put 

 ' one foot before the other, in a funny little 

 attempt at a dignified walk, like the black- 

 birds ; again they hop like a robin, but much 

 more awkwardly, as if they were not accus- 

 tomed to walking, and did not quite know 

 how to use their feet — which is quite true. 



The birds are pine-grosbeaks, and are 

 somewhat irregular winter visitors from the 

 far North. Only when the cold is most 

 severe, and the snow lies deep about Hud- 

 son Bay, do they leave their nesting places 

 to spend a few weeks in bleak New England 

 as a winter resort. Their stay with us is 

 short and uncertain. Long ere the first 

 bluebird has whistled to us from the old 

 fence rail, the grosbeaks are whistling of 

 spring, and singing their love songs in the 

 forests of Labrador. 



A curious thing about the flocks we see 

 in -winter is that they are composed almost 

 entirely of females. The male bird is very 



