Winter Nomads I heard a commotion in a Yaupon Holly tree down the road a couple of blocks from home. Dozens of birds seemed to be devouring the red berries. It was a flock of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), a short-term winter visitor here on the coast. Waxwings tend to arrive like an invasion, stay a week or two, then depart for parts unknown. Such a sleek and elegant bird… The gray-colored tail has a surprising burst of bright yellow at the tip. Typical of Cedar Waxwings — a fuzzy-looking crest and very short bill … The Waxwing’s most prominent feature is, of course, the narrow black mask outlined in white, hiding the eyes like a masked bandit. Note that this male has a black chin-patch, extending onto his throat… If a Cedar Waxwing has a dull colored chin, it’s either a female or a first-winter male… Note the peculiar brilliant red tips on some of the wing feathers shown in the next photo. These resemble shiny drops of red sealing wax, hence the “waxwing” name. Ordinarily a feather is never out of place on a Cedar Waxwing. That’s not the case for this guy… The Cedar Waxwing is known as an unconventional and unpredictable bird that is nomadic, relocating on the basis of where berries are abundant. That explains why they pass through town in February or March, when holly, red cedar, and mistletoe berries are ripe. These birds are able to exist for months solely on berries. A bird will pluck a berry and swallow it whole. Sometimes you can see a Waxwing pass a berry to another bird perched beside it. They eat tiny flowers too, as on this blossoming Branford Pear tree… It’s rare to see just one Cedar Waxwing. They are always in a flock of up to 50 birds. The Waxwings stayed in my neighborhood for about two weeks. Seeing them was great fun while it lasted. Read more about some other birds: Summer Finches >>Winter Loons and Mergansers >>Night Stalker of the Boardwalk >> Please follow and like: Share this:FacebookXLike this:Like Loading... Post navigation Yucatan Land BirdsHello Butter-Butt