WAXWINGS 



(619) Bombycilla cedrorum 



Vieill. (Lat.. the cedar). 



CEDAR WAXWING; CHERRY 

 BIRD; CEDAR BIRD. Plumage 

 as shown — chiefly soft brown and 

 gray; chin blackish, but no conspicu- 

 ous throat patch; no while or yellow 

 on wings; belly and crissum yellow- 

 ish; secondaries often and a few tail 

 feathers less often, tipped with the 

 red seaHng-wax-like appendages; tail 

 broadly tipped with j'ellow. L., 7.00; 

 W., 3.70; T., 2.45. Nest — Of twigs, 

 moss, rootlets, twine, etc., lined with 

 fine grasses; at low elevations in trees, 

 often in orchards; four dull bluish- 

 gray eggs, with a few sharp black 

 specks, .85 X .60. 



Range — Breeds from southern Can- 

 ada south to N. Car., Ark. and Ore. 

 Winters throughout the U. S. 



Family BOMBYCILLIDiE. Waxwings 



A small family of crested birds with short, flat bills, long 

 wings and usually with sealing-wax-like appendages to the 

 tips of many of the secondaries and often of the tail feathers. 



BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, the largest of our two species, 

 are found in boreal regions throughout the northern hemi- 

 sphere. They are classed as among our most mj^stifying 

 birds. During some winters, great numbers of them appear 

 in our Northern States and then do not return for many suc- 

 ceeding winters. In the Western States they are more regu- 

 lar in their appearance. There is little chance of confusing 

 this species with the next, very common one, if it be but 

 remembered that the Bohemian always has more or less white 

 or yellow on the wings, while the Cedar Waxwing has no 

 color or marking other than the wax appendages. The 

 present species also has a black throat and bright chestnut 

 under tail coverts. 



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