to make its
appearance once in seven years. On the occasion of these rare
migrations, the Silk-tails keep together in large flocks, and remain in
any place that affords them suitable food until the supply is exhausted.

These birds are heavy and indolent, exerting themselves rarely except
to satisfy hunger. They live in perfect harmony, and during their
migrations indicate no fear of man, seeking their food in the streets of
the villages and towns. They frequently settle in the trees, remaining
almost motionless for hours together. Their flight is light and
graceful, but on the ground they move with difficulty. Their call note
is a hissing, twittering sound. In summer, insects are their chief food,
while in winter they live principally on berries. The Wax-wing will
devour in the course of twenty-four hours an amount of food equal to the
weight of its own body. In Lapland is the favorite nesting ground of the
Bohemian Wax-wing. The nests are deeply hidden among the boughs of pine
trees, at no great height from the ground; their walls are formed of dry
twigs and scraps from the surrounding branches, and the cavities are
wide, deep, and lined with blades of grass and feathers. There are five
eggs, laid about the middle of June; the shell is bluish or purplish
white, sprinkled with brown, black, or violet spots and streaks, some
of which take the form of a wreath at the broad end. The exquisite
daintiness and softness of the Wax-wing's coat can be compared only to
floss silk.

THE MARSH WREN.

With tail up, and head up,
The Wren begins to sing;
He fills the air with melody,
And makes the alders ring;
We listen to his cadences,
We watch his frisky motions,
We think--his mate attending him--
He's got some nesting notions.--C. C. M.

These Wrens inhabit marshy and weedy bottom lands along river courses,
and have all the brisk manners and habits of the family. This species,
however, has a peculiar habit of building several nests every season,
and it is suggested that these are built to procure protection for the
female, in order that when search is made for the nest where she is
sitting, the male may lure the hunter to an empty nest.

Its song is not unlike that of the House Wren, though less agreeable. It
is a summer resident, arriving in May and departing in September. Its
nest, which is found along borders of rivers, is made of sedge and
grasses suspended near tall reeds. It h