312 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



Perhaps the most interesting part of the 

 Waxwing's economy is its habits during the 

 season of reproduction. For many years the 

 nest and eggs of the Waxwing were unknown to 

 science. As is usual in such cases, the cabinet 

 scientists invented a tale of their own ; and the 

 belief that this bird reared its young in hollow 

 trees and holes in rocks, in unknown forests, uni- 

 versally prevailed. The halo of romance sur- 

 rounding the nidification of the Waxwing was 

 not cleared away until the pluck and enthusiastic 

 perseverance of Wolley were rewarded, in 1856, 

 by the discovery of its nest and eggs. Even then 

 Wolley had not the rare pleasure of finding these 

 treasures for himself; they were obtained by his 

 servant. Since Wolley's discovery, all the secrets 

 of the Waxwing's habits during the breeding 

 season have been made known ; and certainly 

 the manner of this bird's reproduction is sur- 

 rounded with no ordinary degree of interest. 

 Waxwings, curiously enough, breed in societies, 

 like many other northern birds, such as Fieldfares, 

 Redwings, and Bramblings ; and, what is more 

 interesting, the same locality is rarely used twice 

 in succession, the birds apparently selecting 

 districts where food is unusually abundant, as 

 is the way of the Rose-coloured Pastor. The 

 nest is placed neither in holes of trees nor rocks, 

 but in the branches of the spruce and other fir 

 trees; neither is it domed, but open, like a Shrike's, 

 made of twigs, moss, and lichens, and lined with 



