THE CEDAK ItlRD. 199 



good variety an3-whcro, as it is slirill and clear; and which is particularly wclconac and 

 cheering iu those mountain woods which the siunnier warblers but rarely visit. The 

 bird sings in the noon-tide heat, when most birds, and especially those on the open 

 wastes, with which the haimts of this species arc usually interspersed, are silent. While 

 the Cole-tit is singmg- away in the plantation of half-grown pines, often heard, but 

 seldom seen, the marsh species may be seen flitting about among the long and fragrant 

 bloom which often oTows thick in the neighbourhood; but as the one is heard while the 

 other is seen, that causes them to be confounded." 



THE CEDAR-BIRD.* 



This bird has a graceful crest, which can bo so lowered and contracted close to the 

 neck as not to be observed, but which, when erected, gives it a gay and elegant appear- 

 ance. Its plumage is of an exquisitely fine and silky texture, and extremely smooth and 

 gloss}'. It is often regarded as one of the " chatterers," yet it makes only a feeble 

 lisping sound, chiefly when it rises or alights. 



The Cedar-birds fly in compact bodies, of from twenty to fifty ; and usually alight so 

 closely together on one tree, that the half of them are frequently shot down at one time. 

 In the months of July and August, they collect together in flocks, and retire to the Blue 

 Mountains, and other collateral ridges of the Alleghany, to enjoy the fruit of the 

 whortle-berries, which grow there in the greatest profusion. In October, they descend 

 to the lower and cultivated parts of the country, to feed on the berries of the sour gum 

 and red cedar, of which last they are immoderately fond. Thirty or forty of these bii'ds 

 may sometimes be seen fluttering among the branches of one small cedar-tree, and 

 eagerlj' plucking off its fruit. . They are also found as far south as Mexico. 



The nest is large for the ^ze of the bii'd, and is fixed in the forked or horizontal 

 Jbranch of an apple-tree, ten or twelve feet from the ground. Its exterior and its lower 

 part are formed of a mass of coarse, dry stalks of grass ; the inside is entirely' lined with 

 ver}^ fine stalks of the same material. There are three or four eggs of a dingy bluish- 

 M'hite, thick at the great end, tapering suddenly, and becoming very narrow at the other. 

 They are marked with small, roundish spots, of various sizes and shades of black, and 

 the great end is of a dull, pale purple tinge, marked likewise with various shades of 

 purple and black. The female, if disturbed, darts from the nest in silence to a consider- 

 able distance ; but no notes of wailing are heard from either parent, nor are they even 

 seen, though the cause of the alarm be in the tree, examining the nest and the yovnig. 

 " The season of love," says Wilson, " which makes almost every other small bird musical, 

 has no such effect on them ; for they continue, at that interesting period, as silent as 

 before." 



Audubon states that these birds are excellent fly-catchers, spending much of their 

 time in the pursuit of winged insects, but having little vivacity or energy of action. 

 They start from the branches and give chase to the insects, ascending after them for a 

 few yards, or move horizontally towards them, perhaps rather further than when 

 ascending, and as soon as the prey is secured, return to the spot, where they continue 

 watching: with slow motions of the head. Towards eveuins; this amusement is carried on 

 for half an hour or an hour at a time, and is continued longer at the ajDproach of autumn, 

 the berries then becoming scarcer. 



This species is peculiar to America. Very few of them, however, remain the whole 

 winter in the middle states. 



* Ampelis Americana. 



