THE WAX WINGS 1641 



habits the waxwing is confiding and tame, though much less so in the spring and 

 summer than in the winter. "At the latter season of the year," writes Mr. Dresser 

 ' ' I used to see large flocks in Southern Finland, usually frequenting the mountain- 

 ash trees, and very often seen in the gardens quite in the centre of the towns. So 

 tame are they that, when fired at, and one or two killed, the remainder will only fly 

 to a short distance, and soon return to the same tree again. The flocks are often 

 very large, and I have known of more than twenty specimens having been killed 

 at one shot; I once killed as many as fourteen at a shot off a large mountain-ash 

 tree, on which a flock was perched picking off the berries. It is a peculiarly 

 silent bird, and I watched a flock for some time without hearing any of them 

 utter a sound. The only note I have heard is a low plaintive whistle, from 

 which, I imagine, it is called by the Finns by the name of tilhi, as this gives some 

 idea of the sound of its call note. When frightened, or suddenly disturbed, the same 

 note is uttered, but is then shriller and louder in tone. The bird sits very erect, 

 and carries its crest so that it is distinctly seen; when frightened, it at once raises 

 its crest, slightly spreading it. A flock busy feeding on a rowan tree, especially if 

 the ground and tree are covered with snow, is a most pleasing sight; and I have 

 often sat and watched them from a window close to which was a small mountain 

 ash, to which they often came to feed on the berries, which latter having large 

 clusters, like bunches of coral beads, forming a rich contrast to the pure white 

 snow." Waxwings in confinement are somewhat inactive birds. Sometimes, it is 

 true, they will hop restlessly from perch to perch, or even take a brisk fly around 

 the aviary; but for the most part they prefer to squat upon some favorite perch, 

 occasionally uttering a short succession of running notes. They feed somewhat 

 greedily, and show a preference for dried currants. During the winter months small 

 flocks of wax wings may often be seen in Southern Sweden, flying hither and thither 

 at a considerable height, and presenting somewhat the appearance of starlings, 

 from their long wings and comparatively-short tails. The adult male waxwing has 

 the upper parts generally light grayish brown; the forehead and the crest are 

 reddish chestnut; a broad black streak passes through and above the eye from the 

 base of the bill; the primaries are blackish, with the outer web toward the tip white 

 on the outer feather, and yellow on the inner ones, and the inner web broadly 

 tipped with white; the secondaries are blackish gray, tipped with red wax-like 

 appendages; the tail is gray at the base, black toward the tip, and terminated by a 

 broad bar of yellow; the throat is black, and the under parts are vinous red. 



A well-known bird in the orchards and gardens of the United States, 

 is the cedar or cherry bird (A. cedrorum), a smaller species than the 

 Bohemian waxwing, and less beautifully colored, but still possessing considerable 

 interest. The cedar bird nests somewhat late, generally building in an orchard or 

 garden; the nest is placed in a bough, or upon a limb of the tree, and is built of 

 coarse, dry stalks of grass, lined with very fine stems of the same. The eggs are 

 bluish white, thickly marked with blackish spots. The young are at first fed upon 

 insects, but, as they advance, berries become their chief diet. A young bird reared 

 from the nest proved to be very impatient of confinement, but when suffered to fly 

 at large descended from the trees in which he passed the day, in order to perch upon 



