BIRDS IN THE GARDEN 235 



flavor (which our grandmothers found so good in jam making) is 

 pleasant to the robins' palate so, let me repeat, be sure to have a clump 

 or hedge of Thunbergii, for the cold January and February days 

 when all the other sweeter fruits are gone and the Cedar birds will 

 stay with you till the hosts appear from the South in March, April 

 and May. 



There are also a few vines which will repay planting for the birds. 

 Notably Actinidias, Lyceum and the berry-bearing Loniceras. 



All these trees, shrubs and vines are not only useful as bird food 

 but have decorative value as well. Not nearly enough people realize 

 the great beauty of berry-bearers in Winter. The warm oranges, reds, 

 bright blues and clear blacks of the different fruits are most attractive 

 and especially if there are evergreens with which to contrast them, 

 their decorative value has only to be seen to be appreciated. 



The birds will find the evergreens, especially the dense, close grow- 

 ing Cedars, Arborvitses and Retinisporas extremely welcome as roosting 

 places on long, cold Winter nights, as I have repeatedly observed, 

 every one of my Cedars having its cozy feathered tenants. 



I will never forget the night I saw, just at dusk, a Pine-grosbeak 

 creep into one of my Junipers, the only one of that species I have ever 

 seen. Or that other February afternoon when in a little flock of cedar 

 birds eating Barberries, I suddenly realized that one was twice as large 

 as any of the rest and had two white bars on each wing and I knew I 

 was watching a Bohemian waxwing, that rare wanderer over the face of 

 the world. I am sure he found a sufficient supper, rather bitter to be 

 sure but warming, and a dense Arborvitse hedge kept him warm and 

 safe for one night at least. 



