64 BULLETIN 197, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



since been shown to be subspecifically distinct from the latter, B. g. 

 gai^'ulus, as well as from a closely related Asiatic race, B. g. central- 

 asiae. Dr. Harry C. Oberholser ( 1917) has pointed out the differences 

 between the forms. He says that our bird is similar to the Asiatic 

 bird, "but decidely more grayish (less cinnamomeous) both above and 

 below". And he adds : "The North American representatives of this 

 species constitute a well-marked and readily recognizable subspecies 

 which differs from Bomby cilia garrula garrula in its paler, very much 

 more grayish (less vinaceous or cinnamomeous) , coloration both above 

 and below." 



The type race has occurred as a straggler in Greenland. 



The 1931 Check-list implies that the Bohemian waxwing nests wholly 

 north of the United States, but Dr. Walter P. Taylor (1918) has pub- 

 lished several records that indicate that it "occurs, probably rarely, 

 as a breeding bird within our borders in the coniferous forests of the 

 northern Rocky Mountain region, in a district embracing north- 

 western Montana, northern Idaho, and northern Washington." 



Harry S. Swarth (1922) found a colony of these waxwings breed- 

 ing in the lowlands near the upper part of the Stikine Eiver, in 

 northern British Columbia. Just why they were restricted to this 

 limited area, when conditions were apparently equally favorable far- 

 ther down the river, was not apparent. The terrace or plateau where 

 he found them "extends westward a mile or more, is quite level, and 

 but sparsely covered with forest growth. A year or more before our 

 visit it had been swept by fire and a large part of the timber destroyed. 

 As we saw the place there was very little underbrush of any sort, 

 a great many dead trees, mostly pines with some poplars, and a scat- 

 tering growth of live trees that had escaped destruction. The coni- 

 fers were the lodgepole pine {Pinus contorta), and were all small 

 trees." 



Fifty miles or so down the river, at Doch-da-on Creek, he found 

 the waxwings breeding under slightly different conditions. "This 

 tract was composed mainly of balsam firs of rather large size, with 

 an admixture of cotton woods and poplars, and with but little under- 

 brush." These woods, though fairly open, were much denser than 

 those mentioned above. 



Courtship. — The following short statement by Mr. Swarth (1922) 

 is all that I can find on this subject : "On one occasion one of a pair 

 of waxwings, presumably the male, was seen strutting about and ex- 

 hibiting his beauties to his mate. Considering that the two sexes are 

 alike in every respect, it seemed rather a superfluous performance, but 

 at any rate the one bird was hopping excitedly about from branch to 

 branch, while the other sat still and looked on. The active performer 

 kept the tail partly spread, wings drooping, and crest raised, and 

 the whole body was held stiffly upright. After several minutes the 



