Waxwing SONG-BIRDS. 



I found some Shrike's feathers, with their wavy markings, 

 adhering to the glass. He had evidently swooped without 

 taking the heavy glass into his calculations, and had bruised 

 his breast. 



Twice only, in middle April, I have heard the Shrike's 

 real song; the notes are soft and very musical, and our 

 bird-loving Danish gardener tells me that in his country the 

 native species is prized as a cage bird and often shows 

 great cleverness as a " mocker." 



FAMILY AMPELID^: WAXWINGS. 

 Cedar Waxwing: Ampelis cedrorutn. 



Cedar-bird. 



Plate 22. 



Length: 6.50-7.25 inches. 



Male and Female : Above grayish cinnamon. Crest, breast, throat, 

 wings, and tail, purplish cinnamon. Black line from back of 

 crest, extending through eye, and forming black frontlets. 

 Secondary wing quills tipped with waxy points. Tail feathers 

 banded with yellow, and sometimes red tips. Bill and feet 

 black. 



Song : A buzzing call, — "Twee, twe^-zee." " A dreary whisper," 

 Minot calls it. 



Season : A resident, breeding here, and wandering about in flocks the 

 remainder of the year, feeding upon various fruits, and in win- 

 ter upon cedar berries. 



Breeds : Irregularly through its North American range. 



Nest : A deep bowl made of twigs, lined with gi-ass and feathers, and 

 much miscellaneous material, either in a crotch, or saddled on 

 the limb of a stout cedar bush or a tree, preferably the apple 

 tree. 



Eggs : 3-5, blue-white, with brown and lilac spots. 



Bange : North America at large, from the Fur Countries southward ; 

 in winter, south to Guatemala and the West Indies. 



You will at once recognize the Cedar Waxwing by its crest, 



yellow tail tips, red wing appendages, and straight black 

 bill. Its feathers are more exquisitely shaded than those of 

 our more brilliantly coloured birds. The specimen I have 



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