| Show tracks of birds in snow are easy to identify Ring necked pheasant although snow tracks ot of fur bearing animals such as the rabbit squirrel FeL mink and weasel usually are more interesting to the outdoor tan than those left by birds winter birds bird can tell us a number of in fo te resting stories if we are fa familiar millar with their tracks notes bob becker in the chicago tribune one of the birds which leaves good sized prints in the snow of fields i and woods is the ring necked pheasant it Is possible to see pheasant tracks whenever there is snow on the ground they are quite easy to identify in the first place the pheasant leaves a snow print that is large enough to catch the eye secondly the middle too toe of the bird stands in an almost straight line in the trail this particular feature of the pheasants track is one that makes it quite easy to distinguish from footprints of other good sized wild birds one peculiarity of the pheasant tracks in the snow which always catches our eye Is the blurred line that usually can be seen between footprints this mark is left in the snow by the dragging feet of the bird I 1 when en mr walks walk he be lut lift each loot foot high and then iben plant it squarely in the snow instead he drags each foot so that a long line is cut in the snow this li Is accentuated when the sprints for cover there is no game bird that leaves tracks in the snow over such a wide area as the ring necked pheasant this bird is confident and bold compared to the hungarian partridge and r quail the quail ever conscious of danger would hesitate to go too tar far from protective cover and feed in an open field that would be no hazard at all to the pheasant the quail makes a snow now track about the same size as that made by a barnyard pigeon lettuce used through apes ages vitamins may belong to the twentieth century but lettuce has been used for food through the ages herodotus says lettuce was eaten as a salad in B C in time it was cultivated and even blanched so the romans could have it throughout the seasons later history in the form of privy purse expenses of henry VIII records a reward given a certain gardener tor for bringing kotur Ilett uze to toe the court |
