Photo: Cedar Waxwing, Jonathan Nikkila
How Did the Cedar Waxwing Get its Name?
Jessica Bigger
A flock of Cedar Waxwings, Bombycilla cedrorum, arrived in my backyard recently. The first thing I heard was their high-pitched “see-see-see” call. It was the middle of December and although Cedar Waxwings stay in Virginia year-round, I usually don’t see a flock stop over to forage this late in the year. But I still have berries on my trees and it’s been unusually warm.
Cedar Waxwing, Jonathan Nikkila
Waxwings are very social and tend to travel in large flocks, similar to starlings in size. When they arrive in your neighborhood it’s usually their calls that give them away but they also bob around bushes and trees in search of a variety of different berries.
Cedar Waxwings are frugivores (fruit eating), but in the summer they will also supplement their diet with insects like mayflies, dragonflies, and stoneflies. They eat a variety of berries, including serviceberry, strawberry, mulberry, dogwood, raspberries, blueberries, mistletoe, madrone, juniper, mountain ash, honeysuckle, crabapple, and hawthorns. They are fun to watch when foraging. They will land on a tree, grab a berry, tip their head back, and swallow the berry whole in one big gulp.
Cedar Waxwings build their nests on the fork of a tree branch anywhere from 3 – 50 feet high. To save time, they will occasionally steal nesting material from other birds. They are one of the few bird species who are not significantly affected by parasitization. However, Brown-headed Cowbirds will lay their eggs in Cedar Waxwing nests but most of the cowbird babies do not survive. Waxwing chicks are fed a fruit-rich diet, which is too much for the cowbird chicks to handle.
Unlike most bird populations that are declining due to loss of habitat and climate change, waxwings seem to be doing quite well. Their population numbers have been increasing, likely due to old fields transitioning into shrublands and forests that provide a variety of fruit-bearing trees and bushes.
While the Cedar Waxwing itself is quite unique, by far the most interesting thing about it is its name. If you look closely at some waxwings you will see bright red at the tips of their secondary feathers. Those red tips are not feathers, but actually a waxy secretion. In most cases they are a bright red, but occasionally they can be yellow.
So, what is the purpose of these waxy wing tips? David Mehlmen, Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Migratory Bird Program, believes the waxy tips help attract mates. As a bird ages, the number of waxy secretions that appear on the wingtips seems to increase.
I always look forward to when the waxwings stop over at my neighborhood. The minute I hear that high-pitched whistle, I run for my binoculars. I’m glad we have so many fruit-bearing trees for these birds to feed on. They are always a joy to have around.
Sources:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/overview
https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/02/27/waxwings-really-have-wax-wings/