72 The Bluebird 



a plaintive note that is as suggestive of coming winter 

 as the song is of returning spring. At this season of 

 the year, and especially in autumn, it is usual to see 

 small flocks of them along the roadsides and about the 

 orchards. At the approach of winter the greater 

 number of these bluebirds migrate to the southern part 

 of the United States, and some probably go as far south 

 as the West Indies. 



During mild winters a few remain in the Northern 

 States, and those who are fortunate enough to ramble 

 about the hedges and byways sometimes find them in 

 sheltered places. On pleasant days, too, the bluebirds 

 may sometimes be seen in the open fields among the 

 brown weeds, eagerly searching for the few seeds that 

 the wind shakes from the pods still standing above the 

 snow; or, perchance, they may be found about the hay 

 stacks near the bams, where the cattle are fed in 

 pleasant weather. 



One January morning I saw a very unusual bird- 

 picture about one of these stacks. The ground was 

 covered with a thick blanket of snow, over which the 

 hay had been scattered. The loosened seeds were 

 tempting bits of food for the hungry wild birds, and as 

 the morning grew warmer a flock came from the thick 

 underbrush of the woods near by. The greater num- 

 ber were snowflakes, but there were a few sparrows 



