402 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



nearly white. The white !>;ind tiL'ius:s the iureheuJ is very broad; the ex- 

 treme jjuint of the chin only black. Wliether it is a represeutatix e of a style 

 peculiar to the (ireat l>asiii, or merely a bleaeheil individual, cannot be de- 

 cided without ailditional specimens from the same region. 



There is so much variation in ditt'erent si)eciniens in regard to the red wax- 

 like appendages, that the CTuatemalan specimen mentioned above can hardly 

 be considereil as more than a very highly developcil individual. 



Habits. The habits of tlie common Cedar-lJird are eminentlv nomadic, 

 and, so far as those of the Wax wing are known, correspond in all respects, 

 except in the more general and especially the more southern distribution of 

 the present si)ecies. They are found throughout North America at least so 

 far as the wooded country extends, and they breed from Florida to the lied 

 liiver country. They are a common bird in New England, and would be 

 much more so but that their fondness for cherries and other small fruits, and 

 their indifference to danger, makes them an easy and frequent mark for de- 

 struction. Their unpopulai'ity has caused their numbers to be greatly reduced 

 of late years in the thickly settled portions of the country. 



In Southern Texas Mr. Dresser found these birds very common during the 

 winter at San Antonio and Eagle Pass, but he observed none later than the 

 middle of April. They were seen in Tamaulipas, by Lieutenant Couch, in 

 ^larch, and afterwards in April at New Leon, Mexico. Sumichrast states tliat 

 these birds are found every wliere and in ijjreat abundance in winter through- 

 out Vera Cruz. They are there known as the Chinito, and are highly appre- 

 ciated by the ^lexican epicures. They are et^ually abundant in northern 

 parts of South America, and also throughout Central America. 



In Washington Territory and in Oregon Dr. Cooper speuKS of them as less 

 common than in the Atlantic States, and Ik^ ovlv met with a few, in sincrle 

 pairs, in the sunnner. Townsend states thai ».. .and them in Oregon, but 

 Dr. Suckley never met with any west of the Uolkv Mountains. 



In California Dr. Cooper has seen small flocks in winter, as far south as 

 San Diego, feeding on the mistletoe berries. He found their nests at Fort 

 Vancouver, and has no doubt that they also breed in various parts of Cali- 

 fornia. 



Mr. Robert Kennicott states, among other memoranda of his route, that, 

 May 31, on an island in Winnipeg Kiver, he saw a large flock of these 

 birds, numbering tifty or more. 



With some irregularity as to their appearance, they are found throughout 

 the year in New England, their presence Ijeing usually regulated by their 

 food. They are, ])y preference, eaters of berries and other vegetal )le food, 

 except in spring and early summer, when they eat insects almost exclusively, 

 feeding upon the larvje of the spanworm and the canker-worm, and small 

 caterpillars, and supplying these to their young. They also feed their nest- 

 lings with vari(ms kinds of berries and small fruits, both cultivated and wild. 

 Tliey do not nest until late in June or early in July, and with so much 



