. American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States [microform]. Birds; Oiseaux. 8fi SNOW BUNTING. ^. borders of Maryland ; and the whiteness of their plumage is observed to be greatest towards the depth of winter. They spread over the Ge- nesee country and the interior of the district of Maine, flying in close compact bodies, driving about most in a high win<l; sometimes alighting near the doors, but seldom sitting long, being a roving, restless bird. In these plentiful regions, where more valuable game is abundant, they hold out no temptation to the sportsman
. American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States [microform]. Birds; Oiseaux. 8fi SNOW BUNTING. ^. borders of Maryland ; and the whiteness of their plumage is observed to be greatest towards the depth of winter. They spread over the Ge- nesee country and the interior of the district of Maine, flying in close compact bodies, driving about most in a high win<l; sometimes alighting near the doors, but seldom sitting long, being a roving, restless bird. In these plentiful regions, where more valuable game is abundant, they hold out no temptation to the sportsman or hunter; and except the few caught by boys in snares, no other attention is paid to them. They are, however, universally considered as the harbingers of severe cold weather. How far westward they extend I am unable to say. One of the most intelligent and expert hunters who accompanied Captains Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the Pacific Ocean, informs me, that he has no recollection of seeing these birds in any part of their tour, not even among the bleak and snowy regions of the Stony Mountains; though the little blue one was in abundance. The Snow Bunting derives a considerable part of its food from the seeds of (certain aquatic plants, which may be one reason for its prefer- ring these remote northern countries, so generally intersected with streams, ponds, lakes and shallow arms of the sea, that probably abound with such plants. In passing down the Seneca river towards Lake Ontario, late in the month of October, I was surprised by the appear- ance of a large flock of these birds feeding on the surface of the water, supported on the tops of a growth of weeds that rose from the bottom, growing so close together that our boat could with great difficulty make its way through them. They were running about with great activity; and those I shot and examined were filled, not only with the seeds of this plant, but with a minute kind of shell fish that adheres to the leaves
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectois
