328 
SNOW BUNTING. 
in form of a ball, that the fowlers make great havoc among 
them. They arrive lean, soon become very fat, and are delicious 
food. They either arrive in the Highlands very early, or a 
few breed there, for I had one shot for me at Invercauld, the 
4th 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 Firth. * 
“ In their summer dress, they are sometimes seen in the 
south of England, f the climate not having severity sufficient 
to affect the colours ; yet now and then a milk white one 
appears, which is usually mistaken for a white lark. 
<c Russia and Siberia receive them in their severe seasons 
annually, 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. :f This seems to be 
the influence of difference of age more than of season. Ger- 
many 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, 
particularly 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 increasing 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 towards 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, 
* Bishop Pocock’s Journal, MS. 
t Bell’s Travels, i. 19S. 
f Morton’s Northamp. p. 427. 
§ Kramer, Anim. Austr. 372. 
