lar is to be found on the dead leaves, and not a winged insect is
left to come flying {87} by; hence other food must be looked for in new
directions. Emboldened by hunger, the Starlings alight at the kitchen
door, and the Juncos, Sparrows, Downy Woodpeckers, and Nuthatches come to
feed on the window-sill. Jays and Meadowlarks haunt the manure piles or
haystacks in search of fragments of grain. Purple Finches flock to the
wahoo elm trees to feed on the buds, and Crossbills attack the pine
cones. Even the wary Ruffed Grouse will leave the shelter of the barren
woods, and the farmer finds her in the morning sitting among the branches
of his apple tree, relieving the twigs of their buds. In every field a
multitude of weed stalks and stout grass stems are holding their heads
above the snow tightly clasping their store of seeds until members of the
Sparrow family shall thrash them out against the frozen crust beneath.

Among those which are forced to become largely vegetarian in winter is
the Bluebird. In summer he is passionately fond of grasshoppers,
cutworms, and _Arctia_ caterpillars, but now he wanders sadly over {88}
the country of his winter range in quest of the few berries to be found
in the swamps and along the hedgerows. The Crow is another bird often
met in winter walks, for he, too, in many cases spurns the popular
movement southward in the fall, and severe indeed must be the weather
before he forsakes his former haunts. You will find him feeding along
the banks of streams or in the open spots in the fields, or {89} again in
the woods pecking rotten stumps or fallen limbs in search of dormant
beetles.

[Illustration: Grouse "Budding" in an Apple Tree]

Fifty-five species of Warblers inhabit North America. These birds are
insectivorous in their feeding habits, which of course also means that
they are migratory. A partial exception to the rule is found in the
common Myrtle Warbler. Although in winter these birds range south to
Panama, many remain as far north as New Jersey, Kansas, and the Ohio
Valley. This does not mean that insects are found in these regions in
sufficient numbers to supply the larder of the Myrtle Warblers, but it
does mean that they find acceptable substitutes for their usual food.
Oddly enough, what they depend on is not animal matter in any form, but
consists of berries which contain some of the essential food properties
of fatty meats. One of the most popular with them is the co