. Birds through the years . my early morning walks, Ioften saw them swinging down out of the wintry sky fromthe direction of the woods to the west, where I suspect they passed the long,cold nights in theshelter of a thickclump of morning,February 5, when Iwent out just beforesunrise, the ther-mometer under theporch indicated atemperature of 23°below zero. The airwas clear as crystal,and the smoke fromthe farmhouses ofthe valley rose ingray columns, whichsoon took on a deli-cate rose shade inthe first sun course of theriver was distinctly outlined by a white fog wreath, w
. Birds through the years . my early morning walks, Ioften saw them swinging down out of the wintry sky fromthe direction of the woods to the west, where I suspect they passed the long,cold nights in theshelter of a thickclump of morning,February 5, when Iwent out just beforesunrise, the ther-mometer under theporch indicated atemperature of 23°below zero. The airwas clear as crystal,and the smoke fromthe farmhouses ofthe valley rose ingray columns, whichsoon took on a deli-cate rose shade inthe first sun course of theriver was distinctly outlined by a white fog wreath, whichfollowed every winding of the stream from the open waterabout the falls a mile away, where it had its origin. I was very curious to know if my feathered friends hadthe hardihood to brave the Arctic cold, and if I shouldfind them at their usual breakfast They werenot there, and as I did not see them during my walk Iconcluded that the bitter cold had kept them in the shelter-ing thicket a little later than Snow Buntings. WINTER SKETCHES 245 Scarcely was I seated at breakfast when their noteswere heard, and looking out, I saw them in the well-trodden road, eagerly picking up something from thesleigh track. Curious to know what they had found, Iwent out, and lo ! there was a thin trail of oats as far asI could see, probably spilled from a load which a neighbordrove by last evening. How they enjoyed this unexpectedbounty ! And surely it could not have been more timely ! So absorbed were they in their feeding that they paidlittle heed to me, permitting my near approach, thenfluttering away for a few feet, at once to take up the oattrail again. All day they feasted, but at night a heavy fallof snow shut off their granary, and back to the weed patchthey have gone. The Snow Bunting is a bird of the open, rarely seek-ing the shelter of the woods except at night or during asevere storm. They are ground-living birds, where theyare protected by their coloring. During th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1910
