By Tony Gazso, Interpretive Naturalist

As winter wears on, you’ve probably all gotten used to seeing birds at your feeders. Chickadees, house finches and cardinals are all regular visitors looking for some seeds to snack on. But they aren’t the only wintering birds you can see in your backyards. There is another that’s busy nabbing winter berries–the cedar waxwing.

Cedar waxwings are one of three waxwing species. These silky looking birds sport a feathery crest, black mask, and yellow-tipped wings and tail. They get their name from the red waxy secretions that appear on the wings of some individuals, the purpose of which isn’t fully known. Although they do occasionally eat insects, cedar waxwings are mostly frugivorous–meaning they eat almost entirely fruit. Waxwings are one of the few animals that can survive on such a diet. In fact, when brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in waxwing nests, the young cowbirds usually don’t survive as they can’t develop properly on all that sugar. Having a high-fruit diet does come with some caveats; occasionally, birds will eat over-ripe berries that have begun to ferment. This can lead to birds becoming intoxicated, or even worse. Who knew a bird could die of alcohol poisoning?

Cedar waxwing

Cedar waxwings are gregarious birds and are almost never seen alone. Often, large flocks will move through an area from fruit tree to fruit tree eating as many berries as they can. Although they are found in our region year-round, the cedar waxwing is fairly nomadic, wandering throughout their range. This is the case for the other North American waxwing; the bohemian waxwing, which occasionally wanders into our region as well. Look for them mixed in with flocks of cedar waxwings. Although more of a reddish-brown, the best way to separate a bohemian from a cedar is by looking at their wings. Cedar waxwings have plain wings, while the bohemian’s wings have many white and yellow stripes. So next time you’re out and you hear a high-pitched, almost insect-like sound, look up! You may have stumbled upon a flock of feeding cedar waxwings!

Bohemian waxwing