FAMILIAR STUDIES 

 OF WILD BIRDS 



A FAMILY OF CEDAR WAX- WINGS 



(Ampelis cedrorum) 



ON a tramp in the country early in 

 May one may come on a flock of pret- 

 ty little cedar wax-wings, engaged in 

 picking the buds from wayside trees and 

 bushes. An incessant chorus of low plaintive 

 notes coming from several hundred of these 

 dainty brown birds frequently attracts one's 

 attention before he has noticed the flock. Al- 

 though rather shy, the birds may be ap- 

 proached close enough to distinguish with 

 the naked eye the delicate shading of their 

 soft brown feathers, the tapering crests, the 



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