WAXWINGS AND PHAINOPEPLAS 
389 
Fig. 480. Cedar Waxwing. 
Like the Bohemian waxwing the cedar-birds are wanderers, travel¬ 
ing over the country in flocks except during their late breeding sea¬ 
son. Sometimes they appear in small bands of less than a score, at 
others in such large companies that when they alight in a pepper- 
tree and fall to eating the berries their plump, moving forms seen 
through the foliage make the trees seem alive with their numbers. 
Though they all talk at once, as they usually do, their sibilant 
notes are so soft and subdued that a passer-by would scarcely heed 
their presence. 
However much romance there may be in the famous stories recit¬ 
ing the politeness and affection of these gentle birds, they merit all 
