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Cedar Waxwing
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Bombycillidae
Genus: Bombycilla
Species: Bombycilla cedrorum

The Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is a gregarious bird of the family Bombycillidae, the waxwing family of passerine birds. It can be found in open wooded areas of Canada and the northern United States.

Description[]

Cedar Waxwing

Adult in flight.

The Cedar Waxwing is about 6-7" (15-18 cm) long and weighs about 30 grams. It is a sleek-looking, crested bird. The warm brown colour of its head gradually fades to an ashy grey on its wings, rump and tail, the tip of which is bright yellow. The tips of the secondary remiges are red, hence the name "waxwing". The lower underparts are pale yellow. It has a black mask and a black bib, a black bill, and dark grey legs. The tail is short and squared, the wings are pointed. There is no sexual dimorphism. The juvenile lacks the red feathertips and the black mask (which it develops at 1 year of age) and has a streaked chest. The Cedar Waxwing is similar to the rarer Bohemian Waxwing, which, however, is slightly larger, lacks the yellow belly, and has white patches on its wings.

Behaviour[]

The Cedar Waxwing is a partial migrator. It does not travel to any specific wintering territories, it just wanders until it finds a place with enough food and warmer temperatures. It feeds on insects (in the summer), fruit and cedar cones. Cedar Waxwings breed once, occasionally twice a year. The cup-shaped nest is built by both the male and the female. Each clutch consists of 4-6 pale blue eggs with brown markings. They hatch in 10-12 days. The chicks, fed by both parents, fledge in 14-19 days.

Distribution and Habitat[]

The Cedar Waxwing breeds in open woodland in North America, primarily in southern Canada and the northern United States. Above near the middle of its range, it is sedentary. It lives in sparse forests, farms, parks and gardens on the outskirts of town. When food becomes scarce in winter, the birds migrate south to places with enough food and warmer temperatures to supply their needs. The typical wintering quarters stretch from the southern parts of the United States as well as the Caribbean and Mexico to very near the Costa Rican border with Panama. As a vagrant, the Cedar Waxwing has been sighted twice in the UK.

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