XLI 



THE CEDAR WAXWING 



ONE day early in spring my sister and I were in the 

 woods hunting for the first bloodroot and anemone 

 blossoms when we heard a "twee twee" among the bushes. 

 Looking around we saw a flock of a dozen or more beauti- 

 ful little birds feeding on buck-brush berries. 



I had never known anything to eat these berries and 

 of course was surprized to see these birds feeding as 

 merrily as if at the banquet of a king. There is one 

 thing I admire about birds. Tho a certain article of food 

 may not be to their liking, if circumstances force them to 

 eat it they feed as cheerily as if eating the fat of the land. 



The thing that impressed me about these birds was the 

 beautiful crest or topknot, as we call it. The head, neck, 

 and breast were a beautiful brown color, and when they 

 raised their crest it reflected a beautiful purplish sheen. 

 The body was olive-gray shading to ash color on the rump 

 and to yellow underneath, the tail coverts shading to a 

 blackish color in the tail itself, which was tipped with 

 yellow. The wings, especially when spread for flight, 

 showed sealing-wax red tips to the feathers. 



They did not swallow the berries whole, as I had ex- 

 pected, but cracked the seed with their strong beaks and 

 ate only the kernels. These were so small that it was no 



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