THE CEDAR WAXWING 277 



my older brother to shoot certain birds that were eating 

 cherries, and having a new twenty-two caliber rifle he was 

 not slow in acting on the permission. Kobins, red-headed 

 woodpeckers, cedar waxwings, and blue jays were the worst 

 offenders, but robins were not to be killed. The slaughter 

 continued for only one forenoon, however, and perhaps 

 no more than fifteen or twenty birds were killed. Then 

 my brother himself decided that it was cruel to kill birds 

 simply because they liked cherries, but he did not come to 

 this decision till four or five cedar waxwings had been 

 killed. 



This bird measures seven and a quarter inches from the 

 end of its bill to the end of its tail, and as the tail is con- 

 siderably less than three inches long the body is of fair 

 size, not quite so large as the butcher bird's, but yet quite 

 plump. Many farmers slaughter these birds without mercy 

 because of their love for cherries. Few seem to know that 

 they have any good qualities to offset this weakness. If 

 they were to become better acquainted with them, how- 

 ever, they would find them among our best insect-eating 

 birds. True tHey eat berries of various kinds, but most of 

 the berries are wild. They eat a great many seeds, but 

 not grain, and the few cherries they devour are paid for 

 many times over by destroying insects. 



I presume the thing that most prejudices people against 

 these birds is their gluttony. They will eat any berry, fairly 

 gorging themselves on fruits that no other bird eats, often 

 continuing until they can not fly. They seem greatly to 

 enjoy their food, erecting their topknots and moving their 

 wings as they eat, and in every way showing keenest en- 

 joment. The are persistent when feeding, so much so 

 that it is often difficult to drive them out of a cherry tree. 



