326 CEDARBIRD. 
very good substitute for its natural diet. Fresh water for drinking and bathing must 
be given frequently. At least every other day the cage must be cleaned and fresh sand 
given. Thus kept, these birds will last many years, if protected azainst strong draught 
and sun shine in simmer. Whoever cannot grant these and other cage birds a comfort-. 
able existence in this manner, should not keep them in captivity. 
We have already seen that the Cedarbirds cannot be depended upon for regular 
periodicity of movement. I have seen them late in April in the hammock woods of 
southern Florida, and in south-eastern Texas I Observed in the latter part of May large 
flocks in magnolias and live oaks and even among the shade trees of Houston. From 
Florida to Canada, from Texas to Manitoba and beyond, and from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, at any time of the year, one may hear some very peculiar wheezing and lisping 
sounds, and, on “looking about him, may see a dozen or a hundred little birds, flying 
in easy, rather undulating course, to alight in a compact body on the nearest tree, 
where they remain silent and motionless for a few moments, drawn up to their full 
heights, displaying their long top-knots; then they begin to move about and feed, 
unless some alarm sends them off to another tree. When the cedar ripens its glaucous- 
blue berries, these same birds are sure to be found there, gorging themselves until they 
are choke-ful.”” (Cotes.) In the cities and towns of the Northern States they are always 
abundant when the mountain ash is covered with berries. Miss Hedwig Schlichting 
says that she always observed these birds in Sheboygan County and in Milwaukee, 
Wis., throughout the winter, when the mountain ashes in the preceding fall yielded 
large crops of berries. In Milwaukee they usually visit the trees just after day-break; 
in places where they are protected they may be noticed at any time of the day. In 
California they feed on the berries of the beautiful evergreen pepper tree!; in other 
regions they eat juniper berries and in the South wax-myrtle, sparkle, gum, and other 
berries, and even the aromatic fruit-like seeds of the magnolias are consumed. In many 
districts they are called Cherry-birds, from their fondness for cherries, and in Wisconsin 
they are also known as Spider-birds, because they are always in pursuit of spiders and 
other small insects. As they usually enter the orchards during the cherry time in con- 
siderable troops, the horticulturists kill great numbers of these silky-feathered fruiterers. 
I must say with regret that in many sections of our country these beautiful birds 
become noticeably reduced. The farmer and fruit-grower “should always remember that 
at certain seasons these indolent, easy going gormandizers display more agility and 
address in bug-catching than might be expected from them, destroying vast numbers of 
noxious insects. Let the irate gardener remember this when he goes for his gun; and 
let us all hope that people will learn in the course of time, that the indiscriminate 
slaughter of birds, even of such noted thieves as Crows and Blackbirds, necessarily 
turns a well-poised balance in favor of insect pests and by so much against the true 
interests of agriculture.” (Coues.) I have frequently observed them destroying insects, 
especially beetles, bugs, moths, and caterpillars, in immense numbers, and Prof. Robert 
Ridgway says that “during the spring of 1881, when the willow trees in a swamp 
near Wheatland, Indiana, were infested with myriads of the larvae of a small beetle 
(Pilagiodera Iapponica), immense numbers of Cedarbirds were present feeding exclusively 
! Sehinus molle, 
