great strong
beak, hooked like a Hawk's.

Only a Winter Visitor in the United States--a Summer Citizen of the far
North.

Belongs both to the Ground Gleaners and the Wise Watchers.

THE CEDAR WAXWING

(THE POLITE BIRD)

"This is the bird, Nat, that you saw in the cedar tree, where you said
it was 'sitting about doing nothing,'" continued the Doctor.

"The reason of this seeming idleness is, that he belongs to the small
group of birds who do not nest until June, and hereabouts rarely begin
their homes before the middle of that month. Waxwings are very gentle,
affectionate birds; before the nesting season, and after their families
are able to take care of themselves, they wander about in flocks of
sometimes thirty or forty, keeping close together, both when they fly
and when they take their seats. They spend most of the time in the trees
where they feed, whispering to one another in their quiet way, and you
will very seldom see them on the ground.

"Your best chance to watch them is either before the leaves are out or
after they have fallen, when a flock will sometimes sit for half an hour
in a bare tree, exchanging civilities, stroking each other's feathers,
and passing food around. This trait has given them the reputation of
being the most polite birds in all Birdland. One will find a dainty
morsel and offer it to his next neighbor, who passes it
on--hunt-the-slipper fashion--until some one makes up his mind to eat
it, or returns it to its original owner. All the while such a pleasant
lunch is going on, the amiable birds make complimentary remarks to one
another about their dress--how very handsome is one's long pointed
topknot, what a becoming yellow border another's tail has, and how
particularly fine are the coral-red bangles on the wings of a
third--which is much better than if they should pick each other to
pieces and talk about 'frumps' under their breath.

"Some people have complained that the Cedar Waxwing eats cherries, and
have given him the name of 'Cherry Bird'; but the Wise Men say that he
really eats very few cherries or other garden fruits, more than half of
his food being wild berries, such as those of the evergreen juniper we
commonly call 'cedar.'

[Illustration: Cedar Waxwing]

"He may be called one of the best of neighbors; for, besides feeding his
young on many different kinds of destructive insects, he eats cutworms
and the wicked beetles which destroy so many grand old elm trees.