196 



see with the naked eye, but obvious to the touch as the finger is drawn along the edge 

 towards the tip. Young birds do not show this well, sometimes not at all, and various 

 stages of serration appear. It is present in some degree in all spring specimens. 



Field Marks. The best field mark by which to separate the Rough-winged from 

 the Bank Swallow is the evenly suffused breast instead of the white one with broad dark 

 bar. In watching a mixed flock the Rough-wings can usually be picked out by the slightly 

 redder or rusty-coloured back which seems more conspicuous in life than in the hand. 



Nesting. Similar to the Bank Swallow, but more solitary and perhaps more given to 

 nesting in crevices in rock piles, cliffs, or masonry. 



Distribution. America. North to across the Canadian border in the lower Great 

 Lakes region. 



The Rough-wings belong to a genus widely scattered over the world, 

 all exhibiting the peculiar modification of the wing which cannot be 

 accounted for in the present state of our knowledge. 



FAMILY BOMBYCILLID^J. WAXWINGS. 



The Waxwings are striking birds distributed over the northern parts 

 of both the New and Old Worlds. They are represented in America by two 

 species so well characterized in form and colour and so nearly alike that 

 description here is unnecessary. There is remarkably little seasonal or sex 

 variation and Plate XXXVII B and Figure 55, page 27, designate them 

 plainly. The shafts of the secondaries and sometimes those of the tail are 

 enlarged at the tips into brilliantly coloured appendages having a close 

 resemblance to bits of sealing-wax. 



Genus Bombycilla. Waxwings. 



618. Bohemian Warwing. WANDERING CHATTERER. FR. LE JASEUR DE 

 BOHEME. Bombycilla garrula. L, 8. Almost exactly similar in form and colour to the 

 Cedar Waxwing, but larger; the secondaries are tipped with white and most of the prim- 

 aries with white or yellow or both; there is likewise a small white wing-bar. The under- 

 tail-coverts are chestnut and the abdomen greyish without the yellow suffusion. 



Distinctions. No further distinctions are necessary; the Cedar Waxwing is the only 

 species with which it can be confused. 



Field Marks. Their trim figures and conspicuous crests easily identify the Waxwings. 

 The white or yellow on the wings and the chestnut undertail-coverts are the best specific 

 field marks. 



Nesting. In trees, in nest of twigs, roots, moss, etc. 



Distribution. Northern sections of the northern hemisphere. In America, breeding 

 in the far north, northwest of Hudson bay, visiting settled districts irregularly in winter. 



Their irregular wandering habits in winter have given these birds the 

 name "Bohemian" which in this sense is synonymous with "wandering." 

 They are northwestern birds, but come into cultivated sections of eastern 

 Canada occasionally in winter, as does the Evening Grosbeak. They are 

 too rare to have any great economic influence. Their favourite food is the 

 dried waste fruit that hangs through the winter. 



619. Cedar Waxwing. CEDAR-BIRD, CAROLINA WAXWING, CHERRY-BIRD. FR. 

 LE JASEUR DTJ CEDRE. Bombycitta cedrorum. L, 7-19. Plate XXXVII B. 



Distinctions. With the illustration the Cedar Waxwing can hardly be mistaken for 

 any other species except the Bohemian. For distinctions see that species. This is the only 

 Waxwing to be seen in eastern Canada in summer and the most probable one, in the 

 southern sections, in winter. 



