Costume Ball Waxwings

Written By: William McReynolds - Highlands Plateau Audubon Society | Issue: September 2024

These striking visages feature one of the exotic songbirds of forest and field.

Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) are mysterious owing to their distinct plumage: the black mask and prominent tan crest suggest a costume ball; the upright stance in the trees suggests nobility. Look at the bright red and yellow jewels, the white appointments, deft strokes, and a yellow breast that shines in the sun…all clad in a mink-colored cape and hood.

Cedar Waxwings get their name from their predilection for cedar berries in winter. All About Birds nails the diet: Cedar Waxwings feed mainly on fruits year-round. In summer, they feed on fruits such as serviceberry, strawberry, mulberry, dogwood, and raspberries. They also eat mistletoe, madrone, juniper, mountain ash, honeysuckle, crabapple, hawthorn, and Russian olive fruits.

In summer Cedar Waxwings supplement their fruit diet with protein-rich insects including mayflies, dragonflies, and stoneflies, often caught on the wing. They also pick items such as scale insects, spruce budworm, and leaf beetles directly from vegetation.

Courtship is a touching affair, well described by careful ornithological field observers: “Males and females hop towards each other, alternating back and forth and sometimes touching their bills together. Males often pass a small item like a fruit, insect, or flower petal, to the female. After taking the fruit, the female usually hops away and then returns giving back the item to the male. They repeat this a few times until, typically, the female eats the gift.”

They are then monogamous for the season. The female decides where to locate the nest, probably a fork on a horizontal branch low or high in the tree. She does the work but he sometimes helps, especially with a second nest that season. A nest takes only 5 or 6 days to complete but involves as many as 2,500 trips bringing in materials.

These birds swallow berries and seeds whole. In the summer, the berries ferment and naturalists say that Cedar Waxwings become intoxicated eating them. How do you know a bird is drunk? They can’t fly and have trouble holding themselves upright on the branch. Interesting, this world of birds.

Happy September birding from the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society. Look for flocks of these birds, called collectively an “ear-full” or “museum” of Waxwings, near fruit and berries.

The mission of HPAS is to provide opportunities to enjoy and learn about birds and other wildlife and to promote conservation and restoration of the habitats that support them. We are a 501 (c) (3) organization, a Chapter of the National Audubon Society.

Visit highlandsaudubonsociety.org for information on membership and activities.