CEDW

CEDAR WAXWING (Alpha code CEDW)

Cedar Waxwings are beautiful, silky-looking birds with striking black masks and a drooping crest. In addition to their brown-gray body, these birds have a yellow belly, brilliant yellow tailtip and waxy red tips on their secondary feathers, which gives them the name "waxwing". The yellow tailtip can also be dark orange if the bird has fed on Eurasian honeysuckle (an invasive species). They feed almost entirely on fruit, especially berries, and their diet is so fruit-based that many brood parasites will die of malnutrition if placed in a Cedar Waxwing nest. Those nests are often made of "borrowed" material; female Cedar Waxwings will occasionally steal material from the nests of other species. Their cry, heard as they congregate, is a chorus of thin single-note whistles, which sounds like nails on a chalkboard to some people. 

WMBC Bird of the Week, Feb 12--18 2015