254 
OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 
bird which I brought up, destitute of the red appendages 
on the wings, when threatened, elevated his crest, looked 
angry, and repeatedly snapped with his bill. 
Almost all kinds of sweet berries are sought for food by 
the American waxen-wing. In search of whortle-berries, 
they retire in Pennsylvania to the western mountain 
chains of the Alleghany range ; and in autumn, until the 
approach of winter, they are equally attached to the ber- 
ries of the Virginia juniper, # as well as those of the 
sour-gum tree, and the wax-myrtle. They also feed, 
late in the season, on ripe persimmons, f small winter 
grapes, bird-cherries, the fruit of the Pride of China, and 
other fruits. The kernels and seeds of these, uninjured 
by the action of the stomach, are strewed about, and thus 
accidentally planted in abundance wherever these birds 
frequent. Like their prototype, the preceding species, the 
migrations, and time and place of breeding are influenc- 
ed by their supply of food. In the spring of the pre- 
sent year (1831), they arrived in this vicinity, as usual, 
but, in consequence of the failure of cherries, scarcely 
any have bred here, to my knowledge, and very few were 
either to be heard or seen in the vicinity. In this part 
of New England this bird is frequently known by the 
name of the Canada Robin , and by the French Canadians 
it is fancifully called Recollet , from the color of its crest 
resembling that of the hood of this religious order. 
The length of our bird varies from to full 8 inches, so that at 
times it arrives at the full size of the European species. Head, neck, 
breast, back, and wing-coverts of a brownish-grey ; becoming darker 
on the back, and brightest on the front and elevated crest. A deep 
black line from the nostril over the eye to the hind-head, bordered 
* Improperly called Red Cedar. 
t In many parts of Georgia, and particularly the vicinity of Milledgeville, these 
trees are observed to spring up in whole groves on cleared or burnt lands, and this 
growth must undoubtedly be due to the dissemination produced by these birds. 
