AMPELID.E — THE CHATTERERS. 403 



irregularity that 1 have touiul them sitting on their unhatched eggs as late 

 'd6 the I2th of Uctoher. Tiiey are a greedy bird, t'ei'ding Nuicicioiisly where 

 they have an nj)p()rtiinity. They are very uv.ieh attacliud to each other and 

 to tlieir otl'spring. Once, when one ha<l ])een taken in a net spread over 

 strawberries, its mate refused to leave it, sutVered itself to be taken by the 

 hand, in its anxiety to free its mate, and when set at liberty would not leave 

 until its mate had also been released and ))ermitted to go with it. In the 

 summer of 1870 a nestling, hardly half Hedged, fell from its nest, and was 

 found injured by its fall, taken into the house, and fed. Whenever exposed 

 in its cage its parents came al)out it, and supi)lied it with cherries and other 

 fruit, unmindful of the near presence of the family. The young bird lived, 

 and became perfectly tame, feecUng from the liand, and preferring to be fed 

 rather than feed itself. Besides its low lisi)ing call, this l)ird had a reguhir 

 faint attempt at a song of several low notes, uttered in so low a tone that it 

 would be almost inaudible at even a short distance. It became perfectly 

 contented in confinement, and appeared iond of such meml)ers of the family 

 as no deed it. 



The noticeable feature of the Ce<lar-IJird, its crest, it has the power to 

 erect or depress at will. In confinement it generally keeps this depressed, 

 only erecting it when excited from any cause, such as alarm, or desire to 

 receive food. 



Wilson states that in Pennsylvania the\^ collect in August in large flocks 

 and retire to the mountains, feeding on the fruit of the Vacciniam ul'ifji- 

 7iosum, which gi-ows there in great alaindance. Later in the season they 

 descend to the lowlands to feed on the berries of the sour-gum and the red- 

 cedar. In confinement they are very fond of apples, bread soaked in milk, 

 and almost any kind of soft food. They are also very fond of flies, and are 

 expert flycatchers, snapping at all that venture within the cage. 



In their migrations their flight is graceful, easy, and continued, and is per- 

 formed at a considerable height. 



It is unfortunate for the horticulturist that this bird has done so much to 

 merit his prejudices and reprobation, and that he does not ai)[)reciate to the 

 full the immense services it ren<lers to him each spring in the destruction 

 of injurious insects. A flock of these birds will, in a short space of time, 

 devour an immense numlx^r of the larvje of the destructive canker-worms 

 {Phafcrna') that infest the apples and elms of Massachusetts, and, if per- 

 mitted, would soon greatly reduc(» their munbers. liut these prejudices can- 

 not be softened by their good deeds, and the Cherry-Bird is still hunted and 

 destroyed. 



Their nests are usually constnicted late in June or early in Julv, and are 

 placed in various positions, sometimes in a low bush or tree not more than 

 three or four feet from the izround, and rarely more than twenty. Their 

 nests are larixe and bulky, but stroui^lv made of various materials. Gener- 

 ally they build a strong external framework, six or seven inches in diameter, 



