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Cedar Waxwing
Photos by Bruce
Dayton
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ORDER:
Passeriformes
FAMILY: Bombycillidae (Waxwings - 2 Species)
SPECIES:
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
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Cedar Waxwing |
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The Cedar Waxwing is a flock bird and seeing a single one is very rare. The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red appendages of its secondary feathers. They often travel to search for a good crop berries or fruit, when the berries are gone, they move on to search for a new crop. |
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SIZE |
Medium-sized (5-8”) songbird. |
| DESCRIPTION |
The Cedar Waxwing has a black mask, a sleek brown crest on the top of their head and brown body with yellow tips on its tail feathers. They have red waxy feathers on the tips of their wings with black legs and feet. Sexes are similar in appearance. |
| NESTING | Clutch size ranges from 2-6 eggs, which are incubated in 12 to 16 days. They build their nests, a bulky cup of twigs, bark, moss, mud and grass, in shrubs or on branches of fruit or shade trees. |
| RANGE | The Cedar Waxwing's breeding range includes southern Canada and northern United States. They winter in the United States, Mexico and south to Panama. They can be found in most of North America during various times of the year. |
| HABITAT | The Cedar Waxwing prefers a habitat of open woodlands, forest edges, orchards and residential areas, especially those with fruit-bearing trees. |
| DIET | Fruit and berries are its main source of food, but in summer it can be seen diving over pools of water, snatching the insects that fly above the water. |
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| Cedar Waxwing | |
| Rogers
Environmental Education Center Sherburne, NY |
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| CdWx_298A_037311 | CdWx_298A_037316 |
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| CdWx_298A_605049 | CdWx_298A_037353 |
| Baldwin
Preserve - Caroline Township Tompkins County, NY |
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| CdWx_298A_053606 | CdWx_298A_053561 |
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| Cedar
Waxwing Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes |
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| INTERESTING FACTS |
| Juvenile Bird |
| A young bird in its first covering of feathers, which have replaced its initial down. After a molt in its first autumn the bird may show plumage of an immature. |
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Please email with any ideas or comments concerning this web page. |
| The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit. |
NOTE: This site will be updated as time and pictures become available.
Visit Mammals of North America
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Updated 10-19-2008
