CEDAR BIRD, OR CHERRY BIRD. 253 



seen the remarkable red waxen appendages, showing, 

 that their appearance indicates no particular age or sex ; 

 many birds, in fact, being without these ornaments during 

 their whole lives. I soon found my interesting protogee 

 impatient of the cage, and extremely voracious, gorging 

 himself to the very mouth with the soft fruits on which 

 he was often fed. The throat, in fact, like a craw, ad- 

 mits of distention, and the contents are only gradually 

 passed off into the stomach. I now suffered the bird to 

 fly at large, and for several days he descended from the 

 trees, in which he perched, to my arm for food ; but the 

 moment he was satisfied, he avoided the cage, and ap- 

 peared by his restlessness unable to survive the loss of 

 liberty. He now came seldomer to me, and finally joined 

 the lisping muster-cry of tze tze tze, and was enticed 

 away, after two or three attempts, by his more attractive 

 and suitable associates. When young, nature provided 

 him with a loud, impatient voice, and te-did, te-did, kai- 

 te-dul, (often also the clamorous cry of the young Balti- 

 more,) was his deafening and almost incessant call for 

 food. Another young bird of the first brood, probably 

 neglected, cried so loud and plaintively to a male Bal- 

 timore-bird in the same tree, that he commenced feeding 

 it. Mr. Winship of Brighton informs me, that one of the 

 young Cedar-birds, who frequented the front of his house 

 in quest of Honey-suckle berries, at length, on receiving 

 food, probably also abandoned by his roving parents, threw 

 himself wholly on his protection. At large, day and 

 night, he still regularly attended the dessert of the dinner- 

 table for his portion of fruit, and remained steadfast in 

 his attachment to Mr. W. till killed by an accident, being 

 unfortunately trodden under foot. 



Though harmless, exceedingly gentle, and artless, they 

 make some show of defence when attacked, as a second 



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