CEDAR WAXWING. 77 



out or after they have fallen, when a flock will some- 

 times sit for half an hour in a bare tree, exchanging 

 civilities, stroking each other's feathers and passing 

 food around. One will find a dainty morsel and offer 

 it to his next neighbor who passes it on hunt-the- 

 slipper fashion until some one makes up his mind to 

 eat it or returns it to the original owner." 



In spring Cedar-birds visit orchards to get the 

 insects which infest the bark and blossoms of fruit 

 trees, and of which they eat enormous quantities. If 

 later, when cherries are ripe, they return for their 

 well-earned share, we will not grudge it. Although 

 not at all shy when in flocks, coming freely into the 

 gardens and parks of the city, after they separate and 

 retire to woods or orchards for the breeding season, 

 they are so quiet and stealthy in their ways that they 

 are less frequently seen than much rarer birds. They 

 nest late, seldom before the middle of June. The nest 

 is bulky, and is generally in trees, from ten to twenty 

 feet above the ground. The eggs, 3 to 5, are grayish- 

 white, speckled and spotted with black. 



Waxwings are especially abundant in autumn, 

 when they roam about in large flocks, young and old 

 together. 



