Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-03
TOLD BY BIRDS IN FLIGHT
Denizens Of the Air foreten Approach of
Hard Winter.
They Arc InfaIIible Prophets OF
That Winter in Northern Chimes.


| From the New York Evening Post
Birds have been favorite subjects for the
| amateur weather prophet since prehistoric
| times. but some of the predictions based
| upon them are as foolish as were the
oracles derived from the entrails OF feeding
| OF the sacred chickens in the Roman Col
| lege of Augurs. For example. it was held
/ that the wilderness of a goose's breastbone
| indicated the amount Of snow to be ex-
| pected: that il a goose walked east but
| flew west or stood on one leg cold weather
would fl Wv; or that cartridges did not
| drum in the fall preceding a bad winter.
In the south old farmers used to have a
| saying that when the ivory billed wood
| pecker. beginning at the base of a tree and
| working gradually to the top. removed all
the bark. one must be prepared for a hard
winter with deep snow. The logic OF this
has never, to my knowledge. been eX-
| planned, and fear it never will be, for the
| splendid ivory bill is now almost extinct.
| We can well afford to smile at these
| quaint conceits, but there are sayings pop
| ular among sportsmen and farmers which
| are based upon more reasonable observa-
ton of the migratory habits of birds. They
will tell you that when the water fowl
rive from the north at an unusually early
date and with rush, and when the wild
geese and other noticeable migrants pass
| us, southwark bound, in high straight flight.
| as II eager to get on, cold weather may be
| expected to follow, and probably the winter
| will be exceptionally hard" This idea IS
| based upon the theory that they have been
forced by unusually early and severe wealth
| er to leave their summer home in the far
| north ahead of the proper time and migrate
| in haste. and. as it is known that our win
| tiers proceed from the north, the deduction
| is fair that by and by we shall get our full
| share of the excessive rtgor.
| 1t was a message of this nature that led
me to think lest winter was to be more
than usually snowy. for / learned, as early
as the middle of November. 1895, that snow
| buntings (well named snowf1akes in COM
| mon speech and Laplaud long-spurs had
| been observed on the south shore of Long
| Island and elsewhere near New York where
| several winters may pass in succession
without their beng seen at all. This meant,
| to my mind, that although up TO that time
| we Were having-one OF the most beautiful
OF autumns. the arctic regions were al
ready in the grasp of extraordinary cold,
| and the great plains about Hudson bay and
| in the northwestern interior of British
America were deeply buried in early SHOWS.
| IL was especially interesting. therefore 10
| hear. soon afterward, that the bad season
on the Yukon had begun surprisingly carry.
| The effect of this condition Of things
| meteorological in the north would natu-
| rally be to hasten the departure of the
| migratory birds who resort in summer TO
| those distant coasts to breed, and in addi-
! ton TO this ii would force farther south
than usual those other birds which do not
seem to fear cold greatly, but are obliged
| to retreat south of the area of deep snow
|
| birds are able to maintain themselves all
| winter in arctic climate. One such is
| the crow. which although by no means
| confined to that Indictment region), is to be
| found i'm winter in most of the northerly
1 parts of the continent, where it haunts the
coast to secure anything that may be cast
| up by the sea. and fingers about the settle
| ments of the Eskimos and the posts Of the
| fur traders to seize upon garbage and
scraps that may be thrown out, or search
| es with keen sagacity for the hunters
| traps in order to steal the bait or rob them
of their spoil. 1t accompanies with grew
some zeal the wandering bands of musk
| oxen and caribou, eager to seize upon the
| weaklings that fall and freeze, or becomes
| a camp follower of wolves. martens and
| other fierce bandits of the dark and snowy
| wilderness. hoping impartially either 10
| share in their bloody quarry or to pick the
| bones of any ally that dies of hunger or
| quarreling. or may be shot for its pelt or
| killed in some fatal charge upon buffalo or
| deer.
Such carbon. eked out with spruce buds,
| birch and willow twigs. berries etc, gives
| the crow a precarious hold on life until
/ spring releases a more ample larder. His
| Sa BILE form and shadow are as ominous to
| the half-starving exfles of that dreadful
| region as is the yulture of the nomads Of
| the desert.
The crow does not turn white in winter
| even on the shore of the Arctic sea- as do
| other birds that remain there or near there.
and there is no reason why he should.
no danger from any other foe nor in need
| of any disguise to enable him to steal upon
| his prey.
The great snowy owl, on the contrary.
which also is artic winterer. profits by
being white. since he is not a scavenger,
| but must subsist for the most part on what
| he can capture among creatures always on
| the lookout for him. When famine and
cod have sent him into their hibernacula
| all the small animals he would dare to at
tack, when fishes are sealed from his grasp
| by ice and most of the birds have gone
| south, he is compelled in high ATTITUDES to
depend almost wholly upon the arctic snow
| grouse or ptarmigans. which they hunt
| in the willow glades that border the water
| courses or seek along the edges of the
| spruce woods Ptarmigans, too, are snow
| white in winter, except that the short tail
| is black and betrays them TO the owl.
whose deadly pounce. by day as well as by
night, is often avoided only by the grouse
diving into the snow and scrambling away
| beneath it. This maneuver frequently foils
| the owl. but it is not effective against
! foxes, who viii either follow the fugitive or,
calculating nicely when the bird will burst
out, wait TO seize it as it energies from the
| drift
, Now. the snowflake is one of this small
| and desperate company, but ii has not
quite the endurance nor the food-getting
| ability of its larger fellows. The snow
| fakes are finches and eat all sorts of seeds
and fruits, with such small ground-keeping
| insects as fall to their lot in summer. Like
| the long-spurs, which are their cousins, hut
less white, they wander in fiocks over the
| tundras and shore plains, always preferring
the coast to the interior. From such places
| the ice, frightful winds and deepening
SHOWS of November gradually drive them
| away. but they go no farther than they are
compelled to go and sometimes are uncom-
mon in midwinter. even at Lake Superior,
while it is only at rare intervals that they
appear in any considerable numbers in the
central United States. This may mean. to
| be sure, that the crop of seeds in the
north is small. but all kinds of seed are not
apt to fall the same year, so that the bet
| ter explanation is that at such times
| traordinary snowfall has buried their lard
ers along the Saskatchewan. in Keewaydin
or Labrador. and forced them to flee be-
yond the storms limit.
knowing these facts, IL is fair predic-
ton when We see northern birds thronging
far beyond their ordinary southern range,
and at surprisingly early date, that
the United States will feel the chill IN
fiuence from beyond its borders and that
We shall have snowy and probably cold
winter.
Mr. Dawson finds that whan