KNOWING THE 
of the first class by some bold or care- 
less individual remaining or returning 
in actual winter. I have seen the fox 
sparrow and hermit thrush in December, 
and even such southerly birds as the 
cardinal and mocking bird have been 
found in winter as far north as Massa- 
chusetts. It adds interest to winter 
rambles to have an eye out for these 
unusual occurrences. 
A number of these species in winter 
are found in flocks. In open fields, 
where various seeds can best be found, 
we may look for flocks of goldfinches, 
siskins, redpolls, snowflakes, and horned 
larks. “The last two are larger birds 
than the others and are more terrestrial, 
often being found in company, and yet 
easily distinguished, since the snow- 
flakes are so white. The first three 
more often cling to weeds to get at the 
seeds and alight on trees. 
The goldfinch can be distinguished 
from the other two by its plain breast 
and black wings. ‘The others have 
striped underparts, but the redpoll has 
a crimson patch on the crown and the 
adult males rosy-tinted breasts. “The 
OF 
SKILL. 
THE NUTHATCH IS AN ACROBAT 
WINTER BIRDS 627 
THE CHICKADEE, WITH HIS BREEZY 
MANNER. 
cedar birds and purple finches also flock, 
as do the crossbills and the pine gros- 
beak, and to some extent the tree spar- 
rows, juncos, and meadow larks, in 
straggling parties. 
Some of the more Northern birds 
are very irregular in their appearances, 
sometimes not coming as far south as 
Massachusetts for years at a_ time. 
This is notably true of the pine gros- 
beak, the two crossbills, and the redpoll. 
Their coming is thought to depend 
more upon the food supply than on the 
weather. “The winters when they ap- 
pear are hailed with delight by bird 
lovers. 
When we see in the evergreens or 
shade trees of the garden a flock of gray 
birds about the size of a robin, we at 
once surmise that the pine grosbeak has 
come. ‘They feed a great deal on buds, 
ash, and maple seeds, and frozen fruit. 
The crossbills live largely on the seeds 
which they extract from the various 
evergreen cones—spruce, pine, and hem- 
lock. Their mellow call notes, uttered 
