We have many birds of bright and gaudy colors, but none who have their plumage of a more delicate and silky texture than this bird.

There are, I believe, but three species of this genus known to naturalists: The Cedar Wax-wing, the subject of this description; the Bohemian, or European Chatterer, which was first discovered in this country on the Rocky Mountains, and it is said, has been since seen a little beyond the Mississippi, and another species, found in Eastern Asia. They have all the fine silky plumage; and the first two, those remarkable oblong appendages at the end of the wing and tail feathers, resembling red sealing wax, hence their name of Waxwing. There are, I believe, none of them musical, at least this, the Cedar Waxwing, is not, for it is almost a mute, having nothing but a single chirp not much louder than a mouse; and how they got the name of Chatterers, is a mystery to naturalists. They are voracious birds and great eaters, and this the farmer and gardener sometimes know to their cost, for they are very fond of ripe cherries, and are good judges of them, and generally select the best. But they are entitled to a moiety of the fruit for their protection of the trees, for they devour ah enormous number of insects. I have seen these birds on an apple tree continue for hours, eating canker worms without intermission. They are, therefore, of incalculable benefit to the agriculturist, (as indeed all birds are, more or less,) and should be protected by him.

Food

The Cedar Waxwing, as also the European Chatterer, are sometimes kept in a cage for their beauty; they may be fed with meal and milk, or any kind of berries, or cherries, and in the winter, dried berries or black currants; they must be soaked in water to make them soft, so that they can swallow them; they must also have beef, cut in very small bits, or scraped, as for the Mocking Bird.

Characteristics Of The Sexes

There is no distinguishing characteristics of the sexes in the plumage of these birds, and it is of no consequence here, as the song of both, such as it is, is alike.

The upper parts of this bird are of a reddish brown, or dark fawn color; the front of the neck lighter, the back browner; on the head a fine crest, which comes up to a sharp point, a line of black, as also a line of white, runs from the nostril to the back of the head; below, another line of white; lower parts, yellow; white at the tail; and at the extremities of the secondaries, or shortest feathers of the wings, there are sometimes, on the whole of them, oblong appendages, resembling red sealing wax; sometimes they are also seen on the tail.

Location

Found, in summer, throughout the United States; in winter, in the southern States. Have seen them in the winter in Massachusetts.