68 BULLETIN 19 7, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



eggs showing the four extremes measure 27.5 by 19.2, 27.3 by 19.4, 21.5 

 by 17.7, and 22.9 by 15.2 millimeters. 



Young. — Apparently no one who has found a nest of the Bohemian 

 waxwing has been willing to allow the eggs to hatch ; hence we know 

 nothing about the period of incubation or about the development and 

 care of the young. The eggs were considered worth more than the 

 information. The only hint we have as to the altricial period is that 

 Mr. Swarth found five young in a nest on June 24, which he thought 

 were not more than two or three days old; on July 5, 11 days later, 

 these young birds fluttered from the nest when disturbed ; they might 

 not have left the nest voluntarily for two or three days. 



Plumages. — Mr. Swarth (1922) shows a colored plate of the young 

 birds, drawn by Maj. Allan Brooks, which gives a better idea of them 

 than any description ; the brood consisted of four males and one female. 

 He gives the following interesting description of them : 



These young waxwings pi'esented a most striking appearance in life, for to my 

 surprise they exhibited all the characteristic markings of the adult. Not only 

 that, but the yellow tip to the tail was much brighter, more of an orange yellow, 

 than it is in any of the old birds. The wax tips to the secondaries were present in 

 each of the four males but not in the female. Two of the birds had four such 

 tips, one had five, and one had seven, as many as are seen in any of the adults. 

 These wax tips are as large as in many old birds. * » * 



The four young males are very much alike in color and markings, the only 

 differences in appearance being those arising from the slight difference in stage 

 of development. The marginal primary markings are present, sharply defined, 

 and in each case bright yellow. In many adults these markings are white. In 

 the young males the terminal tail band is orange-buff, the primary tips, light 

 orange-yellow. In the brightest adult at hand the tail band is light cadmium, the 

 primary tips, lemon chrome. In the young female the tail band is somewhat 

 paler than in the males, though still more orange than in any adult. The pri- 

 mary tips are but slightly tinged with yellow. 



A still more remarkable feature in the young males is the fact that in each 

 one the rectrices are distinctly tipped with red. These red tips are not fully 

 developed sealing-waxlike scales such as are on the secondaries, but are produced 

 by red coloration of the terminal portion (4 or 5 mm. in length) of the feather 

 shaft of the rectrix. * * * 



While the young birds possess all the markings of the adults, they are appreci- 

 ably different in general body color. They have a somewhat streaked appearance, 

 though not as much so as in the young cedar waxwing; the whole body is of a 

 duller, darker gray than in the adult, and the young bird has none of the vinous 

 coloring about the head that is seen in the adult. The crest is present but only 

 slightly developed. The young has a dull black line from the nostril to the 

 eye and posteriorly on the head, in resemblance to that on the adult, but in our 

 specimens of young there is just an indication of the black throat. This may be 

 due to the fact that in these birds the feathers of the chin and upper throat are 

 but partly developed. 



In full Juvenal plumage, according to Ridgway (1904), the malar 

 region, chin, and throat are dull white, the chin is margined on each 

 side by a dusky streak, and the under tail coverts are vinaceous- 



