Wonderful Waxwings

Day 278: A seasonal delight, the Cedar Waxwings returned to my yard a few days ago and have been busily de-bugging between the weeds which pass for my lawn. Yesterday evening, a group of four birds took turns hunting or perching on the fence, so while fending off mosquitoes with one hand, I managed to capture a digital record with the other.

Bombycilla cedrorum presents such smoothness of body colour that it is difficult to distinguish feather texture even when seen at close range. The transition between its milky-tea brown head and yellowish flanks occurs so smoothly that it fools the eye. However, Cedar Waxwings' distinctive black mask augmented by a thin white line around the edge is striking, and the tail is marked by a yellow band across the tip. The wings are unpatterned except for a frost of white on the tertial feathers and the waxy red "drops" which are sometimes visible on the tips of the secondaries. This feature is characteristic of the species and gives it its common name. It is believed that this secretion is a concentration of the pigments contained in the red berries preferred by the birds (mountain ash, honeysuckle, dogwood, etc.), a factor which may also influence the depth of colour found at the tips of the tail-feathers. Waxwings also consume bugs, buds and blossoms, but their diet is largely fruit.