Jan., 1904 I 
THE CONDOR 
13 
lake shore, 2,950 altitude. The nest was six feet from the ground, in a small fir 
surrounded by larger ones, so that the site was completely screened from passing 
view. The nest was made beside the main stem, situated like that of a chipping 
sparrow’s, which it greatly resembled. It was made externally of coarse weed- 
stems and grasses, and was lined with finer grasses and horsehair. The cavity 
was two inches in diameter, and one and three-eighths inches deep. There were 
five young nearly fledged, showing the black crown and yellow superciliary line, 
and dull wing-bands. All the younglings were infested with a parasitic grub, 
which had eaten a hole in the skull or upper part of the neck behind, and their 
wriggling forms could be seen in the skull or other cavity, from whicli it appeared 
that the parasite had eaten the entire contents, though the youngsters were ener- 
getically stretching forth their heads for food at the approach of the industrious 
parents. The male was most 
active in bringing food to the 
nest, and he was secured with 
little difficulty. The female 
was shyer, and I could cap- 
ture her only after long (and 
impatient) waiting. (I shall 
be glad to send specimens of 
this parasite to any person 
who ma}^ be investigating 
this subject). 
The cedar waxwing is re- 
puted to be lacking in vocal 
powers, except the faint lisp- 
ing call and such variations of 
it as are possible in bird lan- 
guage. This summer for the 
first time I heard a cedar wax- 
wing utter 
another cry, showing that it 
can give forth abundant sound 
should occasion ever require. 
The waxwing is especially 
numerous in this portion of the Flathead region, and desiring a skin for the col- 
lection, I sallied out one evening before dusk with my little collecting gun. Two 
waxwings were sitting near each other on a lower branch of a fir, about 
twenty feet from the ground. They were evidently courting. He would 
sidle over to her, rub his breast against hers, rub his bill caressingly upon 
hers, and then sidle back to his former place. Then the other bird would go 
through a similar performance. Disliking to kill one without the other, I tried to 
get both at one shot, all that my gun carried. One of the birds fell wounded. As 
I picked it up, it gave utterance to a loud, shrill whistling cry, a continuous pite- 
ous cry not unlike the screaming of a young robin when distressed. It is a curi- 
ous fact that some birds have a peculiar cr\' which they use only on occasions of 
great fright or peril. When a long-eared owl (Asio zvi/sonianns) is chloroformed, 
it will utter a peculiar shrill whistle; but whoever heard this owl emit such a call in 
the ordinary circumstances of life? So it is with the cedar waxwing, for it is certainly 
capable of producing a most piercing .scream when its life is sorely tlireatened. 
