236 CROSS-CUT VIEWS OF WINTER. 



heads were nearly split in two, and swallow the 

 fruit with such a gustful relish that it creates in 

 the looker-on an appetite for the same kind of din- 

 ner. At this season these birds are very erratic in 

 their wanderings. One might visit the woods every 

 day for a fortnight without seeing hide or feather of 

 the Bohemians. Why they are placed by natural- 

 ists among the chatterers is not quite clear, for 

 they are the most silent of birds ; even when talk- 

 ing with each other, only the softest whisper is 

 heard. 



Perhaps their irregular and sudden appearance 

 may be accounted for from the fact that they are 

 only raiders, after all, from the great feathered 

 army southward, and, in love of adventure, make 

 occasional dashes into the enemy's country, like 

 cavalry squads, to reconnoiter and note Ihe pros- 

 pects of a spring's campaign ; or, perchance they 

 are driven by the snow from the shores of Lake 

 Winnipeg and Hudson's Bay ; for even in those 

 high latitudes, as far as the wooded country ex- 

 tends, they may be found. 



The mention of the northern regions reminds 

 me of those hardy little buntings or snow-flakes 

 which inhabit the shores of the Polar Sea in the 

 breeding season. When the streams and ponds 



