ZERO BIRDS 29 
barren field full of grassy tussocks and clumps of 
mockernut hickories and black-walnut trees, until 
it at last lost itself in the depths of Blacksnake 
Swamp. This swamp had taken its name from the 
day that we caught a black snake skimming along 
over the tops of the bushes like a bird. In summer 
it is full of impassable quagmires, and to-day we 
hoped to explore the hidden places which we had 
never yet seen. We had scarcely passed through the 
outer fringe of tall grasses and cat-tails, when we 
heard everywhere through the cold air little tinkling 
notes, and caught glimpses of dark sparrow-like birds 
with forked tails, striped breasts, and streaked rich 
brown backs, each one showing a fine zigzag whitish 
line at the bend of the wing. Another field-mark 
was a light patch over each eye, and we identified the 
first and largest flock of pine siskin of the year. 
These siskin are strange birds. One never knows 
when and where they will appear. The last flock 
that I had seen was in my back-yard in May. Usu- 
ally too they are in trees, and this was the first time 
that I had ever met with them on the ground. The 
birds gave little canary-like notes, like goldfinches, 
which are often found with them, but can always be 
recognized by their unstreaked breasts and double 
wing-bars. 
For a long time we studied the flock through our 
field-glasses, until every last one of the Band had 
learned this new bird. As we watched them, a 
white-throated sparrow lisped from a nearby bush, 
and a little later we met a flock of tree sparrows, a 
