Extracts from Diary of Otto Widmann 33 



the species spends the coldest time south of our state, 

 when they feed largely on the berries of the Eed Cedar, 

 Haw, Sumac, Bittersweet, Chokeberrj', Black Alder (Ilex 

 verticillata), Smilax and Hackberry. Restless fruit eaters, 

 like these Cedarbirds, are nature's best agents in the dis- 

 tribution of the seeds of many trees and shrubs. I may 

 state here that I had the good fortune last summer of 

 watching a pair of these birds at their nest. This is con- 

 sidered a rare chance, not only because the birds them- 

 selves are uncommon in summer, but because they are 

 the most secretive of breeders. The nest was fifty feet 

 from the ground in the top of an Elm tree, and luck 

 willed it that one of the owners slipped into it at the very 

 second when my glass was fixed upon it. Unlike most 

 other birds the Cedarbirds are very seldom seen in the 

 vicinity of their nest, but arriving from a distance alight 

 directly at the nest and disappear within. Wlien leaving 

 they take wing immediately at the nest and fly over the 

 tree tops, disappearing in the distance. As soon as the 

 young are able to fly the family joins others and is never 

 seen at the breeding stand again. 



One of the best treats we can have in the bird line is 

 when our winter walk leads us upon a troop of Redpoll 

 Linnets, as the Redpolls are often called. These beauti- 

 ful, sprightly little birdies with a red crown and pink 

 breast belong to the rovers, who restlessly go from place 

 to place in flocks containing from 6 or 8 to more than a 

 hundred birds each. Like Crossbills and other rovers 

 they are irregular in respect to their visits in the United 

 States. Sometimes absent in a locality for several years, 

 they may again appear in small numbers or perhaps only 

 late in winter. In Missouri the earliest ever reported 

 was on November 4 and the latest April 8. Redpolls have 

 one of the greatest ranges of passerine birds, and the 

 very same species is found in Europe and Asia from 

 England to Japan and in America from Alaska to 

 Labrador. 



