WAX WINGS. 
467 
note is uttered, but is then shriller and louder in tone. The bird sits very erect, 
and carries its crest so that it is distinctly seen ; when frightened, it at onc-e raises 
its crest, slighly spreading it. A flock busy feeding on a rowan tree, especially if 
the ground and tree are covered with snow, is a most pleasing sight; and I have 
often sat and watched them from a window close to which was a small mountain- 
ash, to which they often came to feed on the berries, which latter having large 
clusters, like bunches of coral beads, forming a rich contrast to the pure white 
snow.” Waxwings in confinement are somewhat inactive birds. Sometimes, it is 
true, they will hop restlessly from perch to perch, or even take a brisk fly around 
the aviary; but for the most part they prefer to squat upon some favourite perch, 
occasionally uttering a short succession of running notes. They feed somewhat 
greedily, and show a preference for dried currants. During the winter months small 
flocks of waxwings may often be seen in Southern Sweden, flying hither and thither 
at a considerable height, and presenting somewhat the appearance of starlings, 
from their long wings and comparatively short tails. The adult male waxwing has 
the upper-parts generally light greyish brown; the forehead and the crest are 
reddish chestnut; a broad black streak passes through and above the eye from the 
base of the bill; the primaries are blackish, with the outer web towards the tip 
white on the outer feather, and yellow on the inner ones, and the inner web broadly 
tipped with white; the secondaries are blackish grey, tipped with red wax-like 
appendages; the tail is grey at the base, black towards the tip, and terminated by 
a broad bar of yellow; the throat is black; and the under-parts are vinous red. 
c d B'd A well-known bird in the orchards and gardens of* the United 
States is the cedar-bird, or cherry-bird {A. cedrorum), a smaller 
species than the Bohemian waxwing, and less beautifully coloured, but still possess¬ 
ing considerable interest. The cedar-bird nests somewhat late, generally building 
in an orchard or garden; the nest is placed in a bough, or upon a limb of the 
tree. The nest is built of coarse, dry stalks of grass, lined with very fine stems 
of the same. The eggs are bluish white, thickly marked with blackish spots. 
The young are at first fed upon insects, but, as they advance, berries become their 
chief diet. A young bird reared from the nest proved to be very impatient of 
confinement, but when suffered to fly at large descended from the trees in which he 
passed the day, in order to perch upon his owner’s arm. The cry of the young bird 
for food is loud and incessant. The cedar-bird flocks in July and August, and 
betakes itself to regions in which whortleberries are plentiful, in order to gorge 
upon the fruits. In October these birds descend to the lower parts of the country, 
to feed upon the berries of the red cedar; thirty or forty birds may sometimes 
be seen fluttering among the branches of one small cedar-tree, plucking off the 
berries. In the fall and beginning of summer the cedar-bird becomes extremely 
fat; hence it was formerly esteemed for the table. The adult bird has the head, 
neck, breast, upper part of the back, and wing-coverts purplish cinnamon, shading 
into ash on the rump; the forehead, lores, and eye-stripe are black, the wings slaty 
grey, with the inner feathers tipped with red horny appendages; and the tail is 
grey, tipped with yellow. 
H. A. MACPHERSOA. 
