TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 291 



and then surrounded them by showy petals so that 

 the insects may readily find their way to the honey 

 and in their search for it unconsciously scatter the 

 pollen. In this way all the showy parts of flowers 

 have originated. 



Again, birds and plants are mutually dependent, 

 the birds feeding upon the fruits of the plants and in 

 turn scattering or distributing the indigestible seeds 

 far and wide over the face of the earth. Indeed, all 

 the fleshy parts of fruits have in time been developed 

 around the seeds for the sole purpose of bringing 

 about the distribution of the latter. Man gathers 

 apples, oranges, or apricots from the tree for the 

 sake of the flesh or pulp, not for the seeds ; but in 

 getting the pulp he carries the seed far away from 

 the parent tree. Cherries, raspberries, strawberries 

 and many of the fruits of wild plants are very attrac- 

 tive to the palate of birds, and the latter are there- 

 fore the chief agents in the distribution of these fruit 

 producing plants. 



Among our frugivorous birds the cedar bird or 

 cherry bird ranks pre-eminent for the great variety 

 of wild fruits which it eats. This bird is a perma- 

 nent resident in Indiana, but is most abundant during 

 the spring and fall migrations as many of them spend 

 the winter farther southward. It is almost always 

 seen in flocks, usually from forty to a hundred together. 

 It has no song and no gaudy colors, yet from the 

 - delicacy and softness of its plumage it 



is one of our most beautiful birds ; and 

 Cedar Bird. 



during the craze for feather ornamen- 

 tation, w-hich was so prevalent a few years ago, and 



