Page:How to have bird neighbors (IA howtohavebirdnei00patt).pdf/115

 around the side of the head. The front is yellowish-gray and the tail edged with yellow. The name, waxwing, is due to a shiny red patch on their wings. The fact that these waxwings are very fond of cedar berries must be what has given them also the name of cedar bird. The nest was made of twigs, strings, and various kinds of fiber. The boy said that a few weeks ago he had cut his dog's hair and left it lying on the lawn: that these waxwings then came and carried every bit of it to their nest.

While near the birds I hummed the bird song again, to let them know that the same persons were there that had visited them before. The mother bird was looking straight at us and sitting perfectly still all the while. The boy said he believed the song did help to keep her quiet.

On a cornice of the front porch a phœbe had made two nests, one last year and one this. Both nests were now empty. I said I hoped that a phœbe would come to live on our porch next year.

"You can have this one," answered the boy; and added, "I have to wash off the porch every day while Phœbe is nesting: she scatters so much mud."

As for me, I would gladly clean off our porch several times a day if a phœbe would nest here and sing as sweetly, "Phœbe, phœbe," as I heard that one sing. Sometimes I noticed a slight trill in the second syllable of her song, like "Phœbery." She