SNOW BUNTING. 
197 
few breed there, for I had one shot for me at Invercauld, the 
fourth of August. But there is a certainty of their migration; 
for multitudes of them fall, wearied with their passage, on 
“ the vessels that are sailing through the Pentland frith. * 
‘‘ In their summer dress they are sometimes seen in the 
‘‘south of England;! the climate not having severity sufficient 
“ to affect the colours; yet now and then a milk white one ap- 
“ pears, which is usually mistaken for a white Lark. 
“ Russia and Siberia receive them in their severe seasons an- 
“ nually, in amazing flocks, overflowing almost all Russia. 
“ They frequent the villages, and yield a most luxurious repast. 
“ They vary there infinitely in their winter colours, are pure 
“white, speckled, and even quite brown. J This seems to be 
“the influence of difference of age more than of season. 
“ Germany has also its share of them. In Austria they are 
“ caught and fed with millet, and afford the epicure a treat equal 
“ to that of the Ortolan.”§ 
These birds appear in the northern districts of the United 
States, early in December, or with the first heavy snow, particu- 
larly if drifted by high winds. They are usually called the White 
Snow-bird, to distinguish them from the small dark bluish Snow- 
bird already described. Their numbers increase with the increas- 
ing severity of weather, and depth of snow. Flocks of them 
sometimes reach as far south as the borders of Maryland; and 
the whiteness of their plumage is observed to be greatest to- 
wards the depth of winter. They spread over the Gennesee 
country and the interior of the district of Maine, flying in close 
compact bodies, driving about most in a high wind; sometimes 
alighting near the doors, but seldom sitting long, being a roving, 
restless bird. In these plentiful regions, where more valuable 
game is abundant, they hold out no temptation to the sports- 
man or hunter; and except the few caught by boys in snares, 
no other attention is paid to them. They are, however, univer- 
sally considered as the harbingers of severe cold weather. How 
* Bishop Pocock’s Journd, MS. f Bell’s Travels, 1, 198, 
j- Morton’s Northamp. p. IST". § Kramer, Anlm. Austr. 372. 
