236 THE SMALLER -BRITISH BIRDS. 



visits, however, to all these countries are extremely irregular. In some 

 years it has appeared in Scotland and the northern counties of England 

 in considerable numbers, and again, for several successive winters 

 scarcely a specimen has been seen. In 1849 and 1850 the Waxwings 

 were particularly abundant, no less than five hundred and eighty-six 

 are recorded to have been killed, most of them in the month of January 

 of the latter year. At this period a considerable number of individuals 

 were obtained in the southern and south-eastern counties of England, 

 but as a rule only a few isolated specimens find their way to these 

 warmer parts. 



The Waxwing derives its name from a number of curious appendages 

 to the quill feathers, resembling red sealing-wax. These are really 

 prolongations of the horny shafts of the feathers beyond the webs. 

 They vary in number from four to nine on each side, according to 

 the age and sex of the bird. The general colour of the plumage is 

 reddish grey, darkest on the back, and fading into greyish white 

 beneath. The head is surmounted by a beautiful silky crest. The 

 throat, and a band from the nostrils to the back of the head are black. 

 The quill feathers are black, some tipped with white and others with 

 yellow. The tail is also black, tipped with yellow. The male is about 

 eight inches in length, and the female a little smaller. 



Mr. Woolley, who visited Lapland in 1857, obtained no less than 

 six hundred of the eggs of this bird. The nests were discovered in 

 spruce and Scotch firs; they were placed at no great height from the 

 ground, and composed of dry twigs and portions of the surrounding 

 branches. The eggs are described as bluish or purplish white, thinly 

 spotted and streaked with brown, black, or violet. Their number varies 

 from four to seven. When a portion of Mr. Woolley's duplicate Wax- 

 wings' eggs were sold in London in May, I860, they fetched on an 

 average 3 3s. each. 



These birds have a light, graceful, and rapid flight, strongly resem 

 bling that of the Starling. On the ground they move heavily and 

 clumsily. They roost amongst the thickest branches of trees and bushes; 

 and in windy weather seek shelter very near the ground, or hide in 

 the crevices of rocks in rocky countries. Their food consists of berries 

 and insects; the latter they capture in the manner of the Flycatcher. 

 The song of the Waxwing is little more than a low twitter. "While 

 singing," says Bechstein, "the bird alternately elevates and depresses 

 its crest, and so Squats in a heap, as to conceal all motion in the 

 throat/' The common call-note is described as a chirp frequently 

 repeated. 



