THE CEDAR BIRD. 117 



midst of clouds of gnats and midges. You hear no snap- 

 ping of the bill, as in the case of Fly-catchers similarly 

 engaged, but each little detour signifies the destruction of 

 one or more of these tiny insects. 



This imitation of the Fly-catchers the farmer will scarcely 

 admit, as he recalls the more destructive habits of this bird, 

 how he appears singly, or in large numbers, on the sweet 

 cherry-tree of early summer, pilfers blackberries and rasp- 

 berries, strips the rich, ornamental clusters from the mountain 

 ash; in short, fills himself with fruit to the very throat, even 

 dropping and dying, in some cases, of sheer gluttony all 

 this without the least apology for a song nothing in the 

 way of a note but a sly tseep, (seep, scarcely loud enough to 

 be a warning to the ordinary ear nothing, in short, to 

 recommend him but his graceful carriage and fine clothes, 

 unless, indeed, the ornithologist can vindicate him as a 

 " fly-catcher " and "worm-eater," and so secure a balance 

 of sentiment in his favor. This vindication we believe to be 

 possible. At any rate, as a beautiful ornament in nature, 

 he is entitled to some support, especially by those who 

 regard ""a thing of beauty a joy forever." I never could 

 justify a certain old gentleman of my acquaintance who 

 shot eighty of these " orchard beauties " from a single 

 sweet cherry-tree in a few hours. I would rather have set 

 out more cherry-trees. 



Strange to say, though this bird is here among the first, 

 and in large flocks, some few even remaining through the 

 winter, it does not ordinarily begin a nest till late in June 

 or in July, perhaps because the favorite fruits on which it 

 feeds its young, after a course of insects in their earliest 

 babyhood, are not sooner available. This nest is generally 

 in a tree in the orchard, and is rather bulky and coarsely 

 built for so trim a bird, being composed outwardly of small 



