IOO 
THE CONDOR 
Voi.. VII 
are not true! Nuttall says nothing of the kind. He does say, “an eyewitness as- 
sures me that he has seen’’ this take place — which is a very different matter. Nut- 
tall does not commit himself! o n several occasions I have seen a young or in- 
considerate waxwing demand the apple from which a comrade was feeding, and 
the bird thus deprived of his rights moved aside with no indication of either haste 
or fear, and, from a nearby twig, looked on in silence, as though all the apples in 
the county were not worth a display of temper, or a breach of wax wing etiquette. 
Often in the course of my observations, I have met with incidents which led me to 
feel that the basis of the waxwing’s code of morals is not unlike the injunction — 
slightly modified- — of him who said “Render to no creature evil for evil.’’ Cer- 
tainly our “gentleman in feathers” is not to be placed with those who say, “I will 
do so to him as he has done to me, and more also.” Several years ago I was great- 
ly interested in noting the unfailing good humor, and remarkable self-restraint 
under great provocation, exhibited by a small flock of waxwings that was feed- 
ing in an apple tree. For some reason best known to himself, a robin was making 
himself particularly obnoxious to these quiet well-behaved birds. In a loud, harsh 
voice, the tones of which were made more shrill by the anger which seemed com- 
pletely to master him, he severely berated the inoffensive waxwings. He would 
bluster and scream out his denunciations till he seemed unable longer to restrain 
himself when, to all appearances, absolutely beside himself with rage because the 
objects of his wrath paid no attention to his railings, he did the catapault act — 
hurling himself straight at the intruders. Several of the waxwings, in order to 
avoid an actual collision, left the places where the} 7 were feeding, and alighting- 
on twigs nearby paused for a moment, as if to observe the antics of the furious 
robin, when they would resume their feeding. Their indifference to the loud, 
bullying protests of the robin, and their persistence in remaining on the premises 
after he had ordered them off, so exasperated Mr. Redbreast that with screams of 
defiance he dashed from group to group without stopping to alight until, exhausted 
quite as much by the heat of anger as by the unusual exertions he was making, 
he was glad to drop on a branch and pant for breath. When the robin came di- 
rectly at them, the waxwings would give way and fly a few feet and alight in the 
same tree, so that when their enraged assailant had gone the rounds and had tired 
himself out in a vain attempt to drive them away, they were feeding as quietly and 
unconcernedly as before. The robin showed pluck, and a determination that was 
worthy of a better cause, for no sooner had he recovered his breath than he would 
renew the attack. But each time he was met by the same tactics, the same good 
nature and dignified silence and indifference which, in view of his excited condi- 
tion, must have been extremely exasperating to him. 
While the breeding grounds of these birds are far to the north, Utah has a 
fairly well established record of their nesting within her borders. On June 26, 
1904, Robert G. Bee of this city found a Bohemian waxwing nesting six miles east 
of Sunnyside. The nest was in a low bush on the side hill, the eggs but slightly 
incubated. Mr. Bee, who for some years has collected “singles”, took one egg, and 
that egg lies before me as I write. Rev. Mr. Martin, of Manti, this State, reports 
finding the nest of this waxwing at Springville, Utah, four years ago, and another 
nest of the same species in Six-mile Canyon, in the summer of ’04, but as he took 
neither eggs nor bird, his records have practically no value. 
Many interesting birds spend the winter with us, but a seven years’ acquaint- 
ance with the Bohemian waxwing leads me to feel that among our winter birds 
there is none quite so attractive to me as this well dressed, genial, lovable, aristo- 
crat and gentlemen in feathers. 
Provo City , Utah. 
