628 
as they fly from tree to tree, thrill us 
with delight. 
Another thrill comes when one ap- 
proaches a flock of small birds feeding 
on weed stems projecting above the 
snow, thinking that they are goldfinches, 
and sees a crimson patch shining on 
each head—redpolls, from the very far 
north. But the flock, if not of the 
goldfinch, are more apt to prove to be 
the pine siskin, which is ordinarily 
more common than the redpoll, a heav- 
ily streaked little bird, with no color 
patch, and about the same size. Gold- 
finches, siskins, and redpolls all resort 
to trees as well as to open ground, es- 
pecially along the edge of woods or in 
second growth, where buds, particularly 
those of birches, are a great attraction. 
These wandering flocks of the va- 
THE SCREECH OWL 
IS A COMMON WINTER BIRD THAT IS 
MORE OFTEN HEARD THAN SEEN, 
THE OUTING MAGAZINE 
rious hardy Northern birds will bear 
careful watching, not only on account 
of their own peculiar charm, but  be- 
cause with them are sometimes found 
even rarer strangers. Any flock of red- 
polls is liable to include a specimen of 
the hoary redpoll, a much paler bird, 
which seldom comes as far south as the 
United States. The flock of common 
cedar birds sometimes has in it one or 
more of the rare Bohemian waxwing, 
which resembles the cedar bird, but is 
somewhat larger and has white wing 
bars and a black throat. 
Snowflakes and horned larks often 
flock together, and with them one should 
always look for specimens of the Lap- 
land longspur, a bird of about the same 
size and sparrowlike in appearance, 
with more or less black on throat and 
breast and buff col- 
or on the sides of 
head and neck. An- 
other not common 
bird which may ac- 
company them or 
be found in their 
haunts, especially 
among the sand 
dunes and beach 
grass along the 
coast, is the Ips- 
wich sparrow. It 
can readily be dis- 
tinguished from all 
other sparrows by 
its very pale, 
bleached-out color. 
When a supposed 
flock of pine gros- 
beaks is sighted, 
one may entertain 
the hope that they 
will prove to be 
the still rarer even- 
ing grosbeak. Once 
in a great while 
there will be a 
winter when this 
species comes in 
numbers across the 
Canadian border. 
It is a beautiful 
black-and-yellow or 
orange bird easy to 
recognize. 
