THE 'SINGING BIRDS. 



173 



other members of the feathered creation inhabiting extreme climates, these birds are heavy and 

 indolent, rarely exerting themselves except to satisfy their hunger, and appearing unwilling to move 

 even to a short distance from their usual haunts. With their companions they live in uninterrupted 

 harmony, and during their migrations testify no fear of man, frequently coming down to seek for food 

 in the villages and towns they pass over, without apparently regarding the noisy bustle of the streets. 

 Even during their winter journeyings, they settle frequently, and pass the entire day indolently 

 perching in crowds upon the trees, remaining almost motionless for some hours together, only 

 descending in the morning and evening to procure berries, in search of which they climb from 

 branch to branch with considerable dexterity. Their flight is light and graceful, being effected by 

 very rapid strokes of the wings. Upon the ground they move with difficulty, and rarely alight upon 



THE SILK-TAIL, BOHEMIAN CHATTERER, OR WAX-WING (Bombycilla gamtfa). 



its surface, except when in search of water. Their call-note is a hissing, twittering sound, very 

 similar to that produced by blowing down the barrel of a key. The song, though monotonous and 

 gentle, is uttered by both sexes with so much energy and expression as to produce a pleasing effect, 

 and may be generally heard throughout the entire year. Insects unquestionably constitute the 

 principal food of the Silk-tails during the warmer months, but in winter they subsist mainly upon 

 various kinds of berries. So voracious is this species, that, according to Naumann, it will devoni- 

 an amount of food equal to the weight of its own body in the course of twenty-four hours. When 

 caged, it sits all day long close to its eating-trough, alternately gorging, digesting, and sleeping, 

 without intermission. Until the last few years we were entirely without particulars as to the 

 incubation of the Silk-tail, and have to thank Wolley for the first account of the nest and eggs. This 

 gentleman, who visited Lapland in 1857, determined not to return to England until he had procured 

 the long-desired treasure, and, after great trouble and expense, succeeded in collecting no fewer than 



