The Bohemian Wax-wing is interesting for its gipsy-like wanderings, one
winter visiting one country, next season another, often in enormous
flocks, and usually with intervals of many years, so that in former
times their appearance was regarded as sure forebodings of war and
pestilence, their arrival being dreaded as much as that of a comet.
Another interesting feature of its history is the fact that for a long
time this familiar bird eluded the search of the zoologist. Its breeding
habits, and even the place where it breeds, were unknown thirty years
ago, until finally discovered by Mr. Wolley in Lapland, after a diligent
search during four summers. It is also called the European or Common
Silk-tail, and is an inhabitant both of northern Europe and of North
America, though in America the Cedar Bird is more often met with. In the
northern portions of Europe, birch and pine forests constitute its
favorite retreats, and these it seldom quits, except when driven by
unusual severity of weather, or by heavy falls of snow, to seek refuge
in more southern provinces. It is said that even in Russia, Poland, and
southern Scandinavia it is constantly to be seen throughout the entire
winter; that indeed, so rarely does it wander to more southern
latitudes, that in Germany it is popularly supposed 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.