T H E SNOW BIRD.
FRINGILLA HYEMALIS. LINN.
P L A T E X I I I . MALE AND FEMALE.
THIS is one of our winter visitants from the north, which, along with
many others, makes its appearance in Louisiana about the beginning of
November, to remain a few months, and again, when spring returns, fly
off, to seek in higher latitudes a place in which to nestle and rear its
young. So gentle and tame does it become on the least approach of hard
weather, that it forms, as it were, a companion to every child. Indeed,
there is not an individual in the Union who does not know the little Snow
Bird, which, in America, is cherished as the Robin is in Europe. I have
seen it fed by persons from the " Old Country," and have always been
pleased by such a sight. During fine weather, however, it becomes more
timorous, and keeps aloof, resorting to the briar patches and the edges of
the fences ; but even then it is easily approached, and will suffer a person
on horseback to pass within a few feet of the place where it may be
searching for food on the road, or the rails of the fences on which it is
perched.
Although the Snow Birds live in little families, consisting of twenty,
thirty, or more individuals, they seem always inclined to keep up a certain
degree of etiquette among themselves, and will not suffer one of their
kind, or indeed any other bird, to come into immediate contact with
them. To prevent intrusions of this kind, when a stranger comes too
near, their little bills are instantly opened, their wings are extended, their
eyes are seen to sparkle, and they emit a repelling sound peculiar to
themselves on such occasions.
They are aware of the advantages to be derived by them from larger
birds scratching the earth, and in some degree keep company with Partridges,
Wild Turkeys, and even Squirrels, for the purpose of picking up
such food as these animals may deem beneath their notice. This habit is
more easily observed in those which frequent the farm-yards, where the
domestic fowls prove regular purveyors to them. The report of a gun,
or the unexpected barking of a dog, cause the little flock to rise and
perch either on the fences or an adjoining tree, where, however, they re-
SNOW BIRD. 7:5
main only for a few minutes, after which they return to their avocations.
They are particularly fond of grass-seeds, to procure which they often
leap up from the ground, and dexterously seize the bending panicles.
It is a true hopping bird, and performs its little leaps without the
least appearance of moving either feet or legs, in which circumstance it
resembles the Sparrows. Another of its habits, also indicative of aflinity
to these birds, is it resorting at night, during cold weather, to stacks of
corn or hay, in which it forms a hole that affords a snug retreat during
the continuance of such weather, or its recurrence through the winter.
In fine weather, however, it prefers the evergreen foliage of the holly, the
cedar or low pines, among which to roost. Its flight is easy, and as
spring approaches, and its passions become excited by the increased temperature,
the males chase each other on wing, when their tails being fully
expanded, the white and black colours displayed in them present a quite
remarkable contrast.
The migration of these birds is performed by night, as they are seen
in a district one day, and have disappeared the next. Early in March,
the Snow Bird is scarcely to be seen in Louisiana, but may be followed,
as the season advances, retreating towards the mountains of the middle
districts, where many remain during the summer and breed. Although I
have never had the good fortune to find any of their nests, yet I have
seen them rear their young in such places, and particularly in the neighbourhood
of the Great Pine Forest, where many persons told me they
had often seen their nests.
During the period when the huckleberries are ripe, they feed partially
upon them, being found chiefly on the poorest mountain lands, in which
that shrub grows most abundantly. I have seen the Snow Birds far up
the Arkansas, and in the province of Maine, as well as on our Upper
Lakes. I have been told of their congregating so as to form large flocks
of a thousand individuals, but have never seen so many together. Their
flesh is extremely delicate and juicy, and on this account small strings of
them are frequently seen in the New Orleans market, during the short
period of their sojourn in that district. Towards the spring, the males
have a tolerably agreeable song.
The twig on which you see them is one of the Tupelo, a tree of great
magnitude, growing in the low grounds of the state of Louisiana, and on
one of which I happened to shoot the pair represented in the plate.