The White-winged Crossbill is similar to the Red Crossbill, but its body
is a _dull crimson instead of red_, and its black wing-feathers are so
tipped with white as to form _two broad white wing-bars_. The female is
olive-green, gray underneath, with a yellow rump, dark wings and tail,
white wing-bars, and dark streaks on head, breast, and back.
This crossbill breeds in Canada, south to the Adirondacks, White
Mountains, and Maine. Its note is a soft _cheep_; its song a gentle
warble. To see a flock of these birds feeding silently in a grove of
spruces or hear them singing their low sweet song makes a memory
cherished by bird-lovers. They may be seen in winter as far south as
North Carolina.
[Illustration: JUNCO]
THE JUNCO OR SLATE-COLORED SNOWBIRD
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: About 6¼ inches; slightly smaller than the English sparrow.
General Appearance: Trim, dainty little birds, all gray and white,
except for a _pinkish_ or _flesh-colored_ bill. _White outer
tail-feathers_, showing in flight, are distinguishing marks.
Male: Dark slate-gray above and white below. The gray extends to the
center of the breast in a nearly horizontal line, and with the white
under parts, gives the effect of the birds' having waded breast-deep
in the snow, or having been sliced in two, like the "sliced animals"
of our childhood. Sides grayish; wings slightly darker; tail dark
brown, with two outer feathers white; third feather, partly white;
bill heavy, adapted to a diet of seeds.
Female: Similar to male, only brownish-gray. Winter plumage of all
juncos browner than summer plumage.
Young: Light brownish, streaked with black.
Note: A gentle _tseep, tseep_, and a _smack, smack_, of alarm or
distress.
Song: A tender, sweet trill in the spring. Though monotonous, the song
is very pleasing.
Habitat: Groves of conifers; thickets of bushes or vines, or clumps of
weeds.
Nest: Juncos' nests are built of mosses or grasses on or near the
ground. The speckled eggs and the streaked babies are excellent
examples of protective coloring. The nests are sometimes placed very
near houses, if the surroundings are to the liking of the birds.
Range: Eastern and northern North America. Breeds from the tree-limit of
Alaska and Canada southward to northern United States,--northern
Minnesota, central Michigan, Maine, the mountains of New York,
Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts; winters throughout eastern United
States and southern Canada to the Gulf Coast.
The Carolina Junco, nesting in the southern Appalachian mountains,
is a subspecies, differing but very slightly in color.
Juncos are gentle, attractive little creatures that come to our thickets
when the chill of autumn has driven away our insectivorous birds. Being
seed-eaters, they do not fear winter snows, except those that cover tall
weeds. According to Professor Beal, juncos should be rigidly protected.
They not only destroy large quantities of weed seeds, thereby rendering
service to agriculture, but they eat harmful insects, of which
caterpillars are their favorite. They do no damage to fruit or
grain.[17]
Mr. Forbush writes of the junco as follows: "The Snowbird does not often
breed in Massachusetts, excepting on the higher lands of the
north-central and western parts of the State. Pairs are said to nest
occasionally in ice-houses, which are certainly cool, if not suitable
situations. It is a bird of the Canadian fauna, and it winters in
Massachusetts whenever conditions are favorable. In the southeastern
portion of the State, where the ground is bare in sheltered places
through much of the winter, or where weed seed, chaff, and other food
can be secured, this bird is common in the colder months. Its notes at
this season are chiefly sparrow like chirps.
"A flock of these dark birds on the new-fallen snow is an interesting
sight on a cold winter's day, as they come familiarly about the house or
barnyard. Audubon says that in winter they burrow in stacks of corn or
hay for shelter at night during the continuance of inclement weather. As
spring comes they begin to sing much like the Chipping Sparrow. They
converse together with a musical twittering, and about the first of May
they leave for their northern breeding-ground."[18]
THE SNOWFLAKE OR SNOW BUNTING
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: A little less than 7 inches; slightly larger than the junco and
the English sparrow.
General Appearance: A brown, black, and white bird; the _white is
conspicuous on wings and tail_, especially in flight. The bird has a
characteristic way of "hugging the ground" when walking or
running--it does not hop.
Male and Female: _In winter_: head brown on top, lighter on neck; white
on sides of head, with a brown thumb-mark below eye; back brown,
streaked with black; throat and belly white; a broad brownish band
across breast; a brownish wash on sides and rump; wings black and
white, some of the feathers edged with brown--in flight, the wings
appear white, broadly tipped with black; inner tail-feathers black,
outer feathers white. _In summer_: back and shoulders black, the
rest of the body white; wings and tail black and white.
Notes: Thoreau calls their note "a rippling whistle." He says also,
"Besides their rippling note, they have a vibratory twitter, and
from the loiterers you hear quite a tender peep."[19]
Habitat: The tundras of North America. Snow buntings breed in the
treeless regions of the North; they migrate southward during the
winter.
Range: Northern Hemisphere. In North America, they breed from 83° north
(including Greenland), to the northern part of Canada and Alaska;
winter from Unalaska and south-central Canada to northern United
States, irregularly to northern California, Colorado, Kansas,
southern Indiana and Ohio, and Florida.
[Illustration: SNOWFLAKE]
Snow Buntings, or "Brown Snowbirds" as they are called to distinguish
them from the juncos, or "Gray Snowbirds," are not generally known
because of the infrequency and irregularity of their visits. They belong
to the Sparrow family, but have so much black and white on their wings
and tail as to appear very unlike their relatives.
Snowflakes are gentle, fearless little birds, possibly because they come
from the sparsely settled regions of the North, where they need not
learn to fear human beings. Like chickadees, they appear to love driving
storms, and to frolic during February blizzards with as keen delight as
warmly clad children; like tree sparrows, they are protected by a layer
of fat that keeps out the cold. As they, too, are seed-eaters, snow
buntings must journey southward during the winter to regions where deep
snows do not bury the weeds.
Few people are aware that in the treeless plains of the north there
lives a bird that resembles the much-admired skylark of England in its
way of singing. Both snow buntings and skylarks begin to sing as they
rise from the ground, sing while on the wing or high up in the air, then
drop swiftly to the ground.
Dr. Judd writes as follows about the snowbird: "The snowflake is a bird
of the arctic tundra, above the limit of tree growth. In North America
it breeds about Hudson Bay, in the northernmost parts of Labrador and
Alaska, and to the northward. In its northern home it is a white,
black-blotched sparrow, of whose habits very little is known, except
that it makes a feather-lined nest on the ground, in which it rears four
or five young on a diet which probably consists principally of insects.
After the breeding season, however, a buffy brown comes mixed with the
black and white, and the birds assume a more sparrowlike aspect. They
migrate southward with the first severe cold weather, some of them
coming as far south as the northern half of the United States, where
their appearance is regarded as a sure sign that winter has begun in
earnest. Often a flock of a thousand will come with a blizzard, the
thermometer registering 30° to 40° below zero; and in their circling,
swirling flight, as they are borne along by the blast, they might well
be mistaken at a distance for veritable snowflakes. They settle in the
open fields and along railroad tracks, where they secure some food from
hayseed, grain that has sifted out of the grain cars, and seeds of weeds
that grow along the tracks. Here they remain until April, when, in
obedience to the migrating instinct, they journey north to nest on the
treeless plains of the arctic regions.
"The snowflake differs from many other winter sparrows, such as the tree
sparrow, junco, and white-throated sparrow, in that its flocks act more
nearly as units, the alarm of a single member causing the whole flock to
whirl up into the air and be off. A further difference may be noted in
its strictly terrestrial habits. When not flying, it is almost
invariably found on the ground; and when it does happen to alight in a
tree, awkward wobblings betray its discomfort. Where the feeding
conditions are favorable, immense flocks of snowflakes may be seen
apparently rolling like a cloud across the land, this curious effect
being due to the rear rank continually rising and flying forward to a
point just in advance of the rest of the flock."[20]
Dr. Judd says that little information can be given concerning the summer
food of this bird, but that it probably feeds on the seeds of shore or
marsh plants. The winter food consists of grain, mostly gleanings or
waste, and of weed seed which is consumed in enormous quantities. "On
account of its good work as a weed destroyer and the apparent absence of
any noticeably detrimental food habits, the snowflake seems to deserve
high commendation, and should receive careful protection."
THE TREE SPARROW OR WINTER CHIPPY
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: A little over 6 inches; about the size of the English sparrow.
General Appearance: A small brown bird with a gray breast that has an
_indistinct black spot_ in the _center_.
Male and Female: _Crown reddish-brown_; a gray line over the eye, a
reddish-brown line back of eye; gray below eye; a reddish-brown
streak curving from bill; bill short and thick; back brown, streaked
with black and buff; wings dark brown, edged with white, and with
two white wing-bars; tail brown, slightly forked, outer feathers
edged with white; sides brownish, other under parts white; _the
black spot in the center of the breast_, the identification mark.
Notes: Cheerful twitters and chirps.
Song: A sweet, gentle trill, very delightful to hear.
Habitat: Fields, especially those bordered by bushes that can be used as
shelter at night and as a refuge from enemies.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds in northern and central Canada;
winters from southern Minnesota and southeastern Canada to eastern
Oklahoma, central Arkansas, and South Carolina.
[Illustration: TREE SPARROW]