154 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



list, wisely or unwisely according to varied judgment. It is 

 a small shrike with a white forehead and line over the eye. 

 Length, 6'9 ins. Wing, 3-5 ins. Tarsus, "85 in. 



Family AMPELID.^. Waxwings. 

 Waxwing. Anipells garrulus (Linn.). 



The breeding range of the Waxwing (Plate 60) is circumpolar. 

 The nest was not discovered until 1856, but since then it has 

 been found in far northern pine woods in both hemispheres. 

 In winter the bird migrates south, but its movements are erratic 

 and irregular \ at intervals it has reached the British Islands 

 in such large numbers that the visits are termed " invasions." 

 The last invasion was in the winter of 19 13-14, when birds 

 were met with in small parties in all parts, and when not 

 molested remained for some time in places where food was 

 plentiful. So striking a bird, with its long erectile crest, 

 seldom escapes notice ; and, too frequently, the advent of a 

 migratory horde is followed by a long obituary list, with more 

 or less incorrect newspaper paragraphs. These invaders have 

 mostly been met with between October and April, but on one 

 or two occasions birds have lingered well into spring and even 

 until July. 



The old name " Bohemian Chatterer " is very misleading, 

 for the bird is a silent species. In its breeding haunts Dresser 

 only heard a plaintiff whistle, and Seebohm, who kept some in 

 an aviary, records a low ripple, like that of the Blue Tit, and 

 a Redpoll-like triU. The similarity to the call of the Redpoll 

 struck Miss Turner when, in 1914, she photographed the feeding 

 birds at Cambridge (Plate 62), and she also heard " a long- 

 drawn wheezing note like that of the Greenfinch." The flight 

 is not unlike that of the Starling, so similar in fact that Seebohm 

 at first took birds that he saw near Sheffield for Starlings. 



