CEDAR WAXWING. 
157 
on, it would appear that this species is very prolific, and must 
have at least two hatches in the season ; for as late as the 7th 
of September a brood, in this vicinity, were yet in the nest. 
The period of sitting is about 15 or 16 days; and while the 
young are still helpless, it is surprising to witness the silence of 
the parents, uttering no cries, nor making any approaches to 
those who may endanger or jeopard the safety of their brood ; 
still, they are flying round, and silently watching the dreaded 
result, and approach the nest the moment the intruder disap- 
pears. They feed the young, at first, with insects and smooth 
caterpillars ; but at the end of the 3d or 4th day they are fed, 
like the old ones, almost exclusively on sweet and juicy fruits, 
such as whortle and service berries, wild and cultivated cher- 
ries, etc. A young bird from one of the nests described, in the 
hemlock, was thrown upon my protection, having been by 
some means ejected from his cradle. In this critical situation, 
however, he had been well fed, or rather gorged, with berries, 
and was merely scratched by the fall he had received. Fed on 
cherries and mulberries, he was soon well fledged, while his 
mate in the nest was suffered to perish by the forgetfulness of 
his natural protectors. Coeval with the growth of his wing- 
feathers were already seen the remarkable red waxen append- 
ages, showing that their appearance indicates no particular age 
or sex ; many birds, in fact, being without these ornaments 
during their whole lives. I soon found my interesting protege 
impatient of the cage and extremely voracious, gorging him- 
self to the very mouth with the soft fruits on which he was 
often fed. The throat, in fact, like a craw, admits of distention, 
and the contents are only gradually passed off into the stomach. 
I now suffered the bird to fly at large, and for several days he 
descended from the trees, in which he perched, to my arm for 
food ; but the moment he was satisfied, he avoided the cage, 
and appeared unable to survive the loss of liberty. He now 
came seldomer to me, and finally joined the lisping muster-cry 
of tze tze tze, and was enticed away by more attractive associates. 
When young, nature provided him with a loud, impatient voice, 
and te-did, te-did, kai-tcdid (often also the clamorous cry of 
