1875 
Plectrophanes nivalis. 
(Jan.27)» 
f?eb. 26. 
1876. 
Mar. 25. 
Middlesex County^ Mass, 
A large flock feeding in the road in Ktertown. The 
snov/ is very deep and most of the v/eods in the fields 
buried. 
A flock of snow buntings feeding in the furrows of a 
ploughed field. They would peep at me over the ridge 
of a furrow then drop into its hollow and the next in¬ 
stant appear perhaps twenty yards off, I shot four, two of 
which had the hind and some of the other claws, of sur¬ 
prising length; in one specimen they v/ere twisted slight¬ 
ly and so attenuated in places that it seemed strange 
that they had not broken off. Several of the toes in 
each of these birds were badly swells,! having been 
probably frozen during the recent cold neriod. 
One flying overhead in Watertown, 
They have been very scarce this autumn and most of 
those seen, stragglers flying high over head. 
Dec. 31, 
