354 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



diate vicinity, and these are not closely crowded together, as is the case in 

 communities of Bank swallows. Along the central lakes the nest is usually 

 in fissures of shale rock or around the stonework of bridges. The nest, 

 like that of the Bank swallow, consists of straws and grasses, lined with 

 feathers. The eggs are 5 to 7, occasionally 8, in number, pure white, 

 averaging .72 by .52 inches in dimensions. 



Family BOMBYCILLIOA.E 



Wax wings 



Wing long and pointed; primaries 10, the first short; tail rather short, 

 narrow and even; feet weak; plumage soft and blended; in our species 

 the head is conspicuously crested; the secondaries and sometimes the tips 

 of the tail feathers marked with curious red waxlike appendages. The 

 young are somewhat spotted, especially on the breast, but the adults 

 are plain in body colors. There are about 30 members of this family, 

 inhabitants of the holarctic realm, 2 of which are found in America. 



They are insectivorous in the nesting season, but passionately fond 

 of ripe fruits, and in the winter subsist largely on mountain ash berries 

 and other fruits left hanging on the trees. They are more or less gregarious 

 in habit, especially in the winter, when flocks of hundreds sometimes make 

 their appearance suddenly and disappear as soon as the food supply fails. 

 They can scarcely be called migratory, but are wanderers, seeking not so 

 much the warmer regions as those in which there has been a plentiful crop 

 of fruit. Our waxwings during the summer season feed to a large extent 

 on flying insects which they pursue from some conspicuous perch where 

 they remain for half the afternoon, frequently giving chase to passing 

 insects and returning again to the same station, much after the manner 

 of flycatchers. Waxwings are extremely fond of canker worms and many 

 varieties of caterpillars, even feeding to a large extent on the hairy species 

 which are shunned by many birds. Thus, in spite of the cherries which 

 they destroy in the fruit season, they must be regarded among our most 

 beneficial species. 



