S' f f 7 J. 
OUR WINTER BIRDS IN THEIR FOOD RELATIONS. 
By Clarence Moores Weed. 
JIT is only the birds of 
I exceptional feeding 
1 habits that can endure 
jj the conditions of our 
northern winters. For 
a large part of the time from Novem- 
ber until April, practically all of the 
summer sources of the food supply of 
birds is shut off, aud the existence 
of the winter resident becomes a 
question of adaptation to a limited 
and special diet. So it happens that 
if you analyze the chief food sources 
of our winter birds you will find that 
each species or group of species 
depends upon some chief specialty in 
the way of food. Some search out 
the winter stages of insects in their 
hidden quarters ; others depend upon 
the seeds of herbaceous plants, per- 
haps projecting above the snow; 
others find nutriment in the buds of 
trees; while the shrikes, hawks, 
and owls sustain themselves largely 
upon their fellow residents of the 
feathered world, as well as upon mice 
and related rodents. 
In these pages I have brought 
together a summary of the scattered 
information that has been published 
regarding the feeding habits of our 
common winter residents, omitting, 
however, the hawks and owls. 
In the family Fringillidce , which 
includes the finches and sparrows, 
are found several birds that stay with 
us more or less in winter. The first 
on the list is the pine grosbeak — a 
northern form which ranges south- 
ward through the New England and 
other states in winter. Small flocks 
are to be seen occasionally ; they 
spend much of their time in conifer- 
ous forests, feeding upon the buds 
of pine and spruce. They also eat 
the seeds and buds of white ash, 
basswood, alder, birch, apple, pear, 
and poplar, as well as the berries of 
the red cedar and the high bush 
cranberry. In winter they often 
subsist largel3 r upon the pulp and 
seeds of frozen apples. Sometimes, 
though rareljq they have been known 
to injure fruit orchards by feeding 
upon the buds. 
The purple finch is a handsome 
and somewhat familiar bird, found 
throughout nearty all the United 
States. It is migratory and usually 
goes in flocks, except during the 
breeding season. Unfortunately the 
feeding habits of this species are not 
all that could be desired. Years ago 
Wilson wrote of it: “This is a 
winter bird of passage, coming to us 
in large flocks from the north in 
September and October ; great num- 
bers remaining with us in Pennsyl- 
vania during the whole winter, feed- 
ing on the seeds of the poplar, 
buttonwood, juniper, cedar, and on 
those of many rank weeds that 
flourish in rich bottoms and along 
the margins of creeks. In April 
they frequent the elm trees, feeding 
on the slender but sweet covering of 
