Library #25 · C Color · Wave 2

Cedar Waxwing

Bombycilla cedrorum · Bombycillidae

Sleek masked berry specialist with waxy red wing tips.

At a glance

Size: 5.5–6.7 in
Wingspan: 8.7–11.8 in
Habitat: Berry trees, orchards, edges, neighborhoods
Diet: Fruit year-round; insects in summer

Range: North America; nomadic following fruit

Nesting: Bulky cup in a tree fork; may nest in loose colonies.

Coloring pose idea: Flock on berry-laden bush, crest raised

Hear this bird

General call / song: High thin seee or trilled whistle; rarely a complex song.

Mating / display: Soft seee exchanges and courtship berry-passing between pair.

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Play calls on All About Birds Species overview Audubon field guide

How to know it

Silk-smooth tan plumage, black mask, yellow tail tip, crest.
Red wax-like droplets on wing secondaries (adults).
High thin seee calls from flocks.

Behavior

Travels in tight flocks to strip berry trees.
Passes berries down a line of perched birds.
Nests relatively late when fruit is plentiful.

Fun facts

Can get tipsy on overripe fermented fruit.
Named for those mysterious red waxy wing tips.
Yellow belly and yellow terminal tail band are crisp field marks.

Companion page for the Birds Coloring Calendar series by R. J. D. B. Fact summaries are original educational text or short paraphrases with source links. Call playback via link to All About Birds / Cornell Lab. Re-test QR codes on a phone before final print. Not affiliated with Cornell Lab or Audubon.