The Cedar Waxwing 179 



July 18, 8 :00-ll :10 A. M. 

 The next morning I saw a second little bird still partly in 

 the shell. Again the adult bird returned to the nest within a 

 minute. At 9 :45 the first parent bird brought food to the sec- 

 ond and then flew off again. 



July 19, 8:00-11:10 A. M. 



The following day a large wooden box was placed so that 

 I could sit on it and look within the nest. The second bird 

 allowed us to approach with the box and did not leave the 

 nest until I gave a quick jerk to the limb. There were four 

 little birds, and one egg which did not hatch, and was gone 

 from the nest the next day. On careful scrutiny, numerous 

 feather germs were seen, although at a casual glance the 

 nestlings appeared naked. When touched near the mouths, 

 the Httle birds opened them wide, showing a brilliant red and 

 orange throat. At 9 :07 the second bird was back and brooded 

 the nestlings. The thermometer registered a maximum of 

 100 degrees and probably on account of the heat the bird 

 kept its mouth open. 



Three minutes later the first bird approached the nest di- 

 rectly with an insect and put it in the second bird's bill. This 

 food was regurgitated, but this process could not be observed 

 as well as a little later on, when berries were fed. Both birds 

 fed the young together. Each perched on the side of the 

 nest. All the feedings I observed the first few days were 

 given by both birds together. At 9 :13 the first bird uttered 

 a note and flew away, when the second bird sat upon the nest 

 again. The first bird flew beyond the tree and then upon a 

 branch at the other side of the nest at 9 :30. This was one 

 of the few times that the waxwing did not fly directly to its 

 nest. It may be that the bird was frightened by my presence. 

 Both birds perched on the rim of the nest. The first bird 

 gave the food to the second and then each put its bill in the 

 little birds' mouths, but I could not see any food. 



At 9 :33 the first bird left and the second took its place on 

 the nest again. Half an hour later it stood upon the edge of 



