CHAPTER XXII. 
THE CEDAR-BIRD. 
“ 1VT OTICE,” said Miss Harson, “ what a particu- 
-L-' larly pretty shape this little bird has, and 
how very neat and clean he looks. It is the cedar- 
bird, one of the dearest little feathered friends that 
the cold weather spares ns. You see the curious 
horn on his head, which gives him such a comical 
sort of expression — a sort of knowing look, one may 
say : he can lower and contract this so closely to the 
head and neck that it cannot be seen at all. 
“ The plumage of these little birds is remarkably 
soft and silky, of a dark fawn-color, deepest on the 
back and brightest on the front ; the lower part of 
the breast is yellow, and there are two whitish stripes 
on the wings near the body, while the tail has a mix- 
ture of black and light blue, and is tipped for half 
an inch with rich yellow. But the oddest parts of its 
plumage are the red sealing-wax tips on most of the 
secondary feathers of the wings, which seem to be 
intended for preserving the ends from being broken 
and worn away by the almost continual fluttering 
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