OF VIRGINIA 231 
weeds in an open field, down to the foot of a small bush 
along the roadside. Two and sometimes three broods are 
raised a season, May 2nd, first setting, second setting by 
June 15th. One can hardly have a more beneficial bird 
around one’s farm or suburban home than this species. 
They also eat many seeds of the weeds and grasses. They 
are common all over the State. 
GENUS JUNCO. 
[567-E]. Junco hyemalis carolinensis (Brewster). 
Carolina Junco. 
[Snowbird ]. 
Rance.—Southern Alleghenies. Breeds in the 
Canadian zone (overlapping into the Upper Transition) of 
mountains from western Maryland, Virginia, and West 
Virginia south to northern Georgia; winters in adjacent 
lowlands. 
Nearly every one is familiar with this little bird, 
especally during the winter months when they are very 
common, and during our coldest weather one can see them 
picking and scratching away in the woodland leaves or 
along the roadside in search of insects and seeds. If the 
ground be covered with snow, large flocks are seen in 
company with numbers of the smaller sparrows, flitting 
over the fields and gathering in the weed seeds from the 
stalks, or working under the heavy brush or bank ledges, 
where the ground is still bare. The great amount of 
insects and weed seeds eaten by these birds, especially in 
the Tidewater region of our State where they winter, 
should make the farmer realize they are one of his best 
