54 



Wild Birds. 



During the month of July a pair began to collect nesting material in an apple tree in 

 full view from our porch, and I frequently watched them at work through an opera-glass, 

 and once or twice passed under their tree. This inspection of their private affairs pleased 

 them so little that they left their completed nest, and moved to the adjoining field a few 

 rods away, where there was less publicity, and where five eggs hatched out on the twenty- 

 sixth of August. A nest built in a young oak tree in a remote clearing was discovered 



on August Jth, when it 

 contained a single egg. I 

 did not see the old birds 

 on this occasion and heard 

 but a faint sound, which 

 was evidently a murmur of 

 remonstrance since their 

 nest was promptly for- 

 saken. 



I have camped beside 

 four different nests of the 

 Cedar Waxwings, and after 

 having spent nearly a week 

 in watching the behavior 

 of both old and young 

 birds at short range, feel 

 that I know by heart most 

 of their nesting habits. 



There is a certain rou- 

 tine or etiquette which is 

 observed by all birds at the 

 nests. Certain duties must 

 be performed over and 

 over, such as the capture 

 of prey, bringing it and dis- 

 tributing it to the young, 

 inspecting and cleaning 

 the household, besides 

 brooding the young, es- 

 pecially during the early 

 days of life in the nest. To 



record each visit made and every recurring act performed by the birds would make tedi- 

 ous reading, but strange to say it never seems monotonous to the observer. As the 

 young birds grow older, and begin to stand on the rim of the nest, they furnish ample 

 excitement, and while their theme is always the same, it is delivered with innumerable 

 variations. 



The method of controlling the nesting site was first suggested by some Cedar-birds, 

 whose nest of four eggs was in a thorn-apple bush, and about seven feet from the ground. 

 The main stem supporting the nest was cut off, and fixed firmly in the soil at a height of 



Fig. 36. The female Cedar-bird broods, while the male passes the cherries 

 around. He stands at the back with his gullet loaded and a berry in bill. 



