. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America . Natural history. 196 ORDERS OF BIRDS—PERCHERS AND SINGERS. tops of granite ledges from which the wind has blown the snow. The Slate-Colored Junco,1 often called the Snow-Bird, is also a bird of the snow-fields; but it is a home product rather than a visitor from the desolate Barren Grounds. When seen on snow, its slaty-blue back makes it appear like a dark-colored bird, but underneath it is dull white. Like the snow-bunting, it goes in small flocks, and in winter feeds chiefly upon weed-
. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America . Natural history. 196 ORDERS OF BIRDS—PERCHERS AND SINGERS. tops of granite ledges from which the wind has blown the snow. The Slate-Colored Junco,1 often called the Snow-Bird, is also a bird of the snow-fields; but it is a home product rather than a visitor from the desolate Barren Grounds. When seen on snow, its slaty-blue back makes it appear like a dark-colored bird, but underneath it is dull white. Like the snow-bunting, it goes in small flocks, and in winter feeds chiefly upon weed- seeds and grain. It breeds in our northern states, and in winter migrates southward almost to the Gulf of Mexico. Altogether, thirteen species and varieties of Juncos are recognized in North America, and they are at home all the way from Alaska to Mexico and the Gulf. The Sparrows.—There was a time when in America it was not only respectable but even honorable to be a Sparrow; but during the past ten years, the doings of one alien species, most unwisely introduced here have tended to bring the name into disrepute. How our native species must hate the interloper! But we protest that our native Sparrows are as sweet-voiced and interesting as ever they were; and as wholesale destroyers of noxious weeds, they are unsur- passed. After a careful investigation of the quantity of weed-seeds consumed in Iowa by the Tree-Sparrow,2 Professor F. E. L. Beal calculated the total amount for one year to be 1,750,000 pounds, or about 875 tons! Practi- AMBKICAN GOLDFINCH. They come in flocks of from ten to twenty birds, and Settle in the snow as if they love it. But for a few dark streaks on back and wings, they are the color of snow, and generally have the plump outlines which betoken good feeding and con- tentment. When you see this bird, remember that it belongs to the polar world, quite as much as the arctic fox and musk-ox, and in summer it goes to the "farthest north" on our
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