The Cedar Waxwing 193 



F. SuMiMARY. 



My observations of the cedar waxwing showed that the 

 male and female build their nest together, one bird bringing 

 most of the material and the other bird constructing- the nest. 

 The second nest was completed on June 28th. Three days 

 later the first egg was laid and the other three were laid on 

 the three following days. On July 17, sixteen days after the 

 first egg was laid, the first bird was hatched, and by July 19 

 the four birds had hatched. As the young birds did not all 

 hatch on the same day, they showed considerable variation in 

 size and development. 



The first sound from a nestling was heard the fourth day 

 after the first bird was hatched and from this time on they 

 usually chirped when a parent approached. 



As to food, I found that the young waxwings were fed with 

 food which the parents first swallowed and then regurgitated, 

 until the nestlings were nearly old enough to leave the nest. 

 On the first four days I saw only animal food, worms or large 

 insects, and both parents took part in the feeding process. On 

 the fourth day they were fed amelanchier berries, and after 

 this their food was partly berries and partly bugs and worms. 

 In the cage they were fed almost entirely on berries. The 

 amount of time between feedings varied very much. In the 

 middle of the day they were fed more frequently than toward 

 night. On a hot day they were fed less often than on a cooler 

 one. During an entire day we found that two young birds in 

 a cage ate 93 berries and cherries. I picked the same num- 

 ber and found them to weigh seventeen grams. 



Within the cage the two juveniles were fed at about the same 

 intervals as before. They became more active every day, fly- 

 ing against the sides of the cage, chirping and preening their 

 feathers. The fourth day in the cage a young bird was seen 

 to pick up a berry. After this both birds picked up fruit 

 whenever any was dropped within their reach. In the cage, 

 as in the nest, the young birds kept close together and ap- 

 peared to be fond of each other. When they were released 

 they seemed well and strong. 



