CEDAR BIRDS AND BERRIES 



KEEP sharp eyes upon the cedar groves in 

 mid-winter, and sooner or later you will sea 

 the waxwings come, not singly or in pairs, but by 

 dozens, and sometimes in great flocks. They will 

 well repay all the watching one gives them. The 

 cedar waxwing is a strange bird, with a very pro- 

 nounced species-individuality, totally unlike any 

 other bird of our country. When feeding on their 

 favourite winter berries, these birds show to great 

 advantage; the warm rich brown of the upper 

 parts and of the crest contrasting with the black, 

 scarlet, and yellow, and these, in turn, with the 

 dark green of the cedar and the white of the snow. 



The name waxwing is due to the scarlet orna- 

 ments at the tips of the lesser flight feathers and 

 some of the tail feathers, which resemble bits of 

 red sealing wax, but which are really the bare, 

 flattened ends of the feather shafts. Cherry-bird 

 is another name which is appropriately applied to 

 the cedar waxwing. 



These birds are never regular in their move- 

 ments, and they come and go without heed to 

 weather or date. They should never be lightly 

 passed by, but their flocks carefully examined, lest 

 among their ranks may be hidden a Bohemian 



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