Have you ever seen a waxwing? A beautiful bird with hints of bright colors and a characteristic crest, they can often be found feasting on wild fruit and berries. Here’s what you should know about the wonderful waxwing!
Meet the Waxwings
These small, social birds, with plumage that ranges in color from pinkish to dove-gray, are some of the most subtly beautiful guests in our garden each year. Their black masks, yellow-tipped tails, and bright red waxy feather tips add splashes of color to an otherwise pastel bird.
Of the three species of waxwings in the world, two can be found in North America, while the third—the Japanese Waxwing—resides only in northeastern Asia.
The rarer of the two North American species is the Bohemian Waxwing, which is larger than the Cedar Waxwing and has cinnamon-colored under-tail feathers and a gray breast. It is known for erratic winter movements and large flocks may appear in February and March along the Canadian border and down into the Rocky Mountains. The Bohemian is commonly part of winter finch irruptions, but occurring later in winter, usually February and March.
A Bohemian Waxwing (and friends) foraging in a fruit-bearing tree.
Christmas bird census records in Winnipeg, Canada, have shown as many as 4,724 in 1989 to as few as one bird in 1992! Over time, the Bohemian Waxwing’s numbers have increased due to ornamental plantings of fruit trees such as crabapples and mountain ash, which provide the birds with a feast of fruit.
The Cedar Waxwing, on the other hand, is less happy in cold climates and has been recorded as far south as Costa Rica in the winter months. During the rest of the year, they prefer to reside in the temperate areas of the northern United States. The Cedar Waxwing looks very similar to the Bohemian, but its under-tail feathers don’t have the characteristic cinnamon hue and the coloration of its head, back, and stomach has a slightly more peach-yellow tinge to it.
Fantastic Fruit-Eaters
As frugivores (fruit-eaters), waxwings can survive on a diet of sugary fruits for long periods of time, with mountain ash being an especially favorite food source. Crabapples, dogwoods, and other berry- or fruit-bearing plants are commonly visited by the waxwing, too.
Both Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings have intestinal enzymes that catalyze sucrose (sugar). This, along with low nitrogen requirements, permits waxwings to exist on a diet high in fruit. When fruit and berries aren’t readily available, they mix insects, flower buds, and tree sap into their diets.
A Cedar Waxwing feasts on flower buds.
Because waxwings have the ability to metabolize ethanol, they can sometimes become intoxicated by too much fermented fruit! Both species can be found lying motionless on the ground under a crabapple tree after a storm, though they typically recover after a few hours of inebriation. Sometimes, waxwings gorge themselves so much on sugary fruit that they are unable to fly.
A 1974 Manitoba study of Bohemian Waxwings that perished from flying into buildings after indulging in fermented fruit from a crabapple tree showed that the birds had an alcohol content of nearly 3% and a blood alcohol of 73 milligrams per 100 milliliters. For humans, that would be above the limit for driving, let alone flying!
Waxwings of both species have the largest livers and the widest esophagus (in relation to body size) in the bird family, owing to thousands of years of eating fermented sugary fruit. Their intestines are twice as wide as other birds and are relatively short, which allows for large volumes of fruit.
They nest late in July and August, later than most birds, when fruits and berries are available for their young. The nest consists of a cup of grass, weeds, and plant fibers lined with fine grasses and hair. Four to six eggs are the normal clutch and hatch in about 13 days. Young fledge in about 15 days.
Have you seen waxwings in your yard? If you have, share in the comments below with your location and the time of year that you saw them!
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Cedar waxwing
We are near Sylvan Lake, AB, Canada
The birds are feeding on my apple blossoms today. June 5, 2020.
A small flock of about 20
cedar waxwings
We had thousands of waxwings here in Charleston, West Virginia yesterday. I have never saw that many birds flock around like that in my life. They were perched on top of the trees and the buildings, some had sadly hit the buildings and landed on the sidewalk and street below. There must have been at least 10 dead on the street and sidewalk. It was crazy. They stayed for probably 5 hours and then flew away.
First Cedar Waxwing citing
My new work-from-home office space faces the birdfeeders I have hung in a serviceberry tree. Today I saw an entire flock descending on the tree eating the berries here in Knoxville, TN. They are incredible to watch!
Tons of Cedar wax wings eating berries
We live in Lilburn, Ga (outside ATL) The past couple of years during this time(May) the flock of cedar wax wings come and feast on the berries in my tree. Big ones and ltttle ones this year. Beautiful!
Waxwings
Large flock of waxwings - probably cedar, in trees around my house in NW OKC, near Hefner and May. Unable to see the bright yellow underneath thus the reason for my uncertainty, but they're definitely waxwings and not female cardinals. Seen on April 18th and 19th in mid-morning.
Cedar waxwings
Huge flock this morning again .. quite a few hundred ... have been seeing around this area for a couple of weeks .. they were just a twittering.. beautiful. In Saskatoon SK
Waxwing sitings
Here in western NC, in ANDREWS, there are hundreds of them, going from tree to tree. Sum have berries. It’s Thursday morning apr 9th 2020, 9:30am. This is the first time we’ve seen them.
Very few Waxwings this spring
I work outside every day that isn’t raining here in San Antonio, Texas. The neighbor’s Ligustrum tree overhangs my drive. The tree is full of fruit now (4-1-2020). Last week a small flock of waxwings arrived and ate some of the berries. The flock was maybe 20 birds. They would eat, leave for another tree, come back to eat some more.
Typically the flock size is 50 or more birds. They will come to this tree numerous times a day for a couple weeks. Until the berries are gone. This event has happened every year that I’ve lived here. But so far not this year. Now I’m noticing the berries beginning to fall to the ground in clusters. But minimal to no waxwings.
The other 2 birds I pay close attention to are house sparrows and purple martins. I have a Martin house in my yard and only a few martins have visited. The sparrows are very aggressive and attack the martins. They also fight off other sparrows trying to nest in a compartment. But only one pair of sparrows have started a nest. And no martins.
My concern is that something has changed causing a severe reduction in local and migratory birds in this area. Possibly 5G? Or??
Anybody else seeing this type of change in the local bird population?
Bohemian Waxwings
30+ Bohemian Waxwings descended on our crabapple tree just before noon, and flew off all at once about 50 minutes later. We're just East of Portage la Prairie in Manitoba, Canada. I'm so glad we were home to see it, they're such lovely birds.
Bohemian waxwing in Anchorage Ak
Stunningly beautiful and animated flock of about 16 feasted on our rose hip bush in snowy morning
Cedar Waxwings
I live in Kentucky and have 7 big cherry trees that ripen around June. The wax wings come in hundreds and clean every cherry off the trees in about 2 days.they are beautiful birds but would like to have some cherries left to freeze or eat.
Cedar Waxwing
I live in NE OKC....we have Burford holly and Yupon buses covering our dining room and kitchen windows...we get to see lots of nature in their branches....for the past two years as the Cedar Wax wings migrate north a flock will stop and gorge on the red berries of both bushes....such a joy...
they almost strip both bushes....
Cedar Waxwings
I live in Los Angeles and get to see the waxwings once a year when my persimmons get ripe. I leave some on the tree and wait for the flock to come and enjoy the fruit. It is such a wonderful sight!
Bohemian waxwings
We awoke on Feb. 21,2020, about 7:30 am to discover 3 gorgeous Bohemian Waxwings sitting in our large Starlight Crab tree chomping on the red berries. We viewed the beauties, who were quite relaxed in our presence, then checked them out online, we quickly identified our visitors as Bohemian waxwings ( we Were familiar with Cedar Waxwings) . These Bohemian Waxwings ate, visited other trees in our yard and left after about a 4 hour visit.We don’t know what time they arrived as it was just starting to get light outside when I noticed them. The Chickadees were quite content with their visitors, I guess they knew the Waxwings were not interested in their nuts and black sunflower seeds.
Btw , we live in Brandon Manitoba on the south end near the open fields.
Bohemian waxwings Edmonton Alberta Jan 22 2020
I went out back this morning on a snowy winter morning and there was 20 or more waxwings in my crabapple tree having a feeding frenzy on frozen crabapples. They cleaned off the tree
Waxwing
Found a cedar waxwing in my yard today in Klein, Tx. NW Houston area. So beautiful looked like his feathers had been dipped in paint
Cedar Waxwings
I have a Serviceberry tree in my backyard. Every Spring, when the berries ripen, I have a flock of these beautiful birds in my tree. They stay until they have eaten most of the berries, then fly off, not to be seen again until the next Spring.
Many years ago while I was
Many years ago while I was interviewing for a teaching position in Iowa I watched as a flock of cedar waxwings cleaned a crabapple tree of remaining fruit. It was May and I was seated directly in the line of sight of the tree outside. I remember nothing about the interview--I did get the job--but I do remember the birds totally cleaning that crabapple tree.
Cedar Waxwing Visit to East Texas
Cedar Waxwings were spotted, competing with Robins for treats in a Dogwood tree on our farm in Pritchett, TX on January 13, 2019. Fortunately for the Waxwings, the Robins weren't interested in the berries. All birds left when our kittens, who love to play with the berries on the lower limbs, came to investigate.
Cedar Waxwings
In February of '18 I encountered a flock of Cedar Waxwings in Waxahachie, Texas. My wife was in a business and I was waiting for her on the parking lot. Very little traffic was present. Suddenly a flock of Cedar Waxwings swarmed a leafless tree right in front of me. They were beautiful birds. Flock was probably 20 to 25 birds. They stayed for just a couple of minutes and they were off again. We live about 20 miles north of where I saw them. We live in a more populated area. I've never seen a Waxwing in my yard, in the fields of a nearby small airport or the grounds of a nearby large city park. I'm grateful I came upon the flock in Waxahachie.
Waxwing
Great article - thank you! I saw my first waxwing last year in June (2018) while I was blueberry picking in Bostwick, Florida. It was a Friday evening around 6:30 p.m. and I stopped to pick fresh blueberries on my way home from work. As I was picking blueberries off a bush, I noticed a beautiful bird literally inches from my hand. Maybe he/she had indulged in too many fermented blueberries but he didn't fly away and instead just watched me pick berries around him. I later identified the bird as a cedar waxwing from its marking - what an absolutely beautiful bird! The photos don't do justice!