144 WAX WING 



more nearly the soft tints of tlie Doves, whose 

 gentle ways they also share. Like the Eed-headed 

 Woodpeckers, they are erratic, wandering birds, 

 here one year, somewhere else the next. As they 

 travel in flocks they may be classed with the 

 Swallows, Swifts, Blackbirds, and Bobolinks, 



Fig. 72. 

 Wing- of Waxwiug, showing wax-like tips. 



rather than the solitary Flycatchers, Vireos, and 

 Woodpeckers. Ordinarily the Waxwings are 

 put with the songiess birds, and credited only 

 with two low calls, a short whistle and the ' beady 

 note' of Thoreau; but Mr. Nehrling says that 

 both male and female sing. Careful notes on 

 this point would be of value, and any study given 

 the birds will be more than repaid, as they are 

 unusually individual. 



