WAXWINGS 



97 



varieties are comparatively untouched. This is 

 probaljly due to the fact that when wild fruits 

 ripen they are preferred to cherries, and really 

 constitute the bulk of the diet of the Cetlar W'ax- 

 wing. 



In 1 52 stomachs examined animal matter 

 formed only 13 per cent, and vegetable matter 87 

 per cent., showing that the bird is not wholly a 



fruit eater. With the exception of a few snails, 

 all the animal food consisted of insects, mainly 

 l>cetles — all but one more or less noxious, the 

 famous elm leaf beetle being among the number. 

 Bark or scale lice were found in several stomachs, 

 while the rest of the animal food was made up of 

 grasshoppers, bugs, and the like. Three nestlings 

 had been fed almost entirely on insects. 



PHAINOPEPLA 

 Phainopepla nitens (Szvaiiisnn) 



A. I>. 11. Numlicr I.JO 



Other Names. — .Silky Flycatclier ; Shining Crested 



Sliinnig I'ly-snappi 



lUack-crested Flv- 



7'4 inches. Male, 

 olive-gray. Crown, 

 wings, short and 



Flyeatch 

 catcher. 



General Description. — Lengtii 

 glossy greenish blue-black; femal 

 crested : bill, short and broad 

 rounded ; tail, long and fan-shaped. 



Color. — Adult M.vle: Uniform glossy greenish 

 blue-black; larger wing-coverts, wing, and tail-feathers 

 less glossy black, edged with glossy dark greenish-blue 

 or steel-gray; iiuier webs of primaries with middle por- 

 tion extensively white; iris, red. Adult Fem.^le: 

 Plain olivaceous mouse-gray, the longer feathers of crest, 

 black edged with gray ; wings and tail, dusky ( the 

 latter nearly black), faintly glossed with bronzy-green- 

 ish ; lesser wing-coverts, margined with gray ; middle 

 coverts, broadly margined at the ends with white, the 

 greater coverts edged with the same, the primaries, 



more narrowly edged with white or pale gray ; tail- 

 feathers edged with deeper gray, becoming white on 

 outermost feathers ; under tail-coverts broadly mar- 

 gined with white; inner webs of primaries, pale brown- 

 ish-gray basally but without any definite light-colored 

 area ; iris, brown. 



Nest and Eggs, — Nest ; Usually placed in oaks, 

 elders, or mesquite trees from 8 to 25 feet up ; flat, 

 saucer-shaped, compactly made of light-colored vege- 

 table substances — plant fibers, blossoms, cottony fibers, 

 small twigs. Eggs : 2 or 3, dull gray or greenish- 

 white thickly spotted with brown, black, or lilac. 



Distribution. — Southwestern United States, north„ 

 regularly, to southwestern Texas, New Mexico, south- 

 ern Utah, southern Nevada and southern California, 

 casually or irregularly to west-central Nevada, and to> 

 central and northern California ; southward throughout 

 peninsula of Lower California and on Mexican plateau. 



The Phainopejila, or Shining Crested l"ly- 

 catcher, is glossy bluish-black in color, with large 

 white spots in the wings, which show onh- when 

 flying. His mate is brownish gray. They are 

 rather slim birds, nearly as big as a Catbird. 



The Phainopepla is a beautiful fellow, with an 

 elegant pointed crest, and plumage shining like 

 satin. He sits up very straight on his perch, 

 but he is a rather shy bird, and so not much 

 is known about his \'\ays. He is a real mountain 

 lover, living on mountains, or in canons, or on 

 the borders of small streams of California, 

 Arizona, and Texas. 



As you see by one of his names, he is a Flv- 

 catcher. .Sometimes thirty or forty of them may 

 be seen in a flock, all engaged in catching flies. 

 But, like the Cedar Bird, he is also fond of 

 berries. When berries are ripe on the pepper- 

 trees, he comes nearer to houses to feast on the 

 beautiful red clusters. The song of this bird is 

 fine, and, like many other birds, he sometimes 

 utters ;i sweet whisper song. 



The nest is placed on a branch, not very high 



up in a tree, and is often, perhaps always, made 

 of flower stems with the flowers on, with fine 

 strips of bark, grasses, and plant down. 



ving by R. I. Brasher 



PHAINOPEPLA <; nat, : 



