84 Birds Every Child Should Know 



bearing trees and shrubs. The birds themselves 

 plant most of the wild ones, by dropping the 

 imdigested berry seeds far and wide. How 

 could the seeds of many species be distributed 

 over thousands of miles of land without their 

 help? If will surprise you to count the number 

 of trees about your home that have been 

 planted, quite unconsciously, by birds many 

 years before you were born. Cedarbirds are 

 responsible for no small part of the beauty of 

 the lanes and hedgerows throughout their wide 

 range from sea to sea and from Canada to 

 Mexico and Central America. Nature, you see, 

 makes her creatures work for her, whether 

 they know they are helping her plans or not. 



When a flock of cedarbirds enters your 

 neighbourhood, there is no noisy warning of 

 their coming. Gentle, refined in manners, 

 courteous to one another, almost silent visitors, 

 they will sit for hours nearly motionless in a 

 tree while digesting a recent feast. An occa- 

 sional bird may shift his position, then, politely 

 settling himself again without disturbing the 

 rest of the company, remain quiet as before. 

 Lisping, Twee-twee-zee call notes, Hke a hushed 

 whispered whistle, are the only sounds the 

 visitors make. How different from a roving 

 flock of screaming, boisterous blue jays! 



When rising to take wing, the squad still 

 keeps together, flying evenly and swiftly in 



