Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum

The Cedar Waxwing, an Almanac

• Some name the Cedar Waxwing the borrowed-coat, and leave it at that.
• The Cedar Waxwing at the smokehouse door is an almanac in itself, could you but read it.
• It was once gravely held that its first call of the year is answered with a coin turned over, or not at all.
• The naturalist Prewitt classed it among the lunar-governed fowl, noting that its plumage, ground fine and taken in wine, is a specific against the dropsy.
• The old-timers hereabouts maintain that a nest of it under the eaves keeps the house from a letter best left unopened.

Folklore, invented on the spot — not to be believed.