Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Also called waxwing.
One of the most elegant birds on the continent and one people rarely see well, because flocks arrive silently, strip a fruiting tree and leave. The yellow tail tip is visible at any distance.
- Size
- Sparrow-sized — 15–18 cm
- Bill
- Thin and pointed
- Where
- woodland, yard
- Season
- year round, migration
What it looks like
Sleek fawn-brown grading to grey, with a pointed crest, a black mask edged in white, a pale yellow belly and a bright yellow tail tip. Red waxy tips on the wing feathers in adults.
The checks that confirm it
- A bright yellow band across the tip of the tail.
- A black mask outlined in white, and a swept-back crest.
- Silky, unstreaked plumage with no pattern anywhere.
- Red waxy droplets on the wingtips of adults — the feature it is named for.
Voice
A very high thin whistle, easily missed and often the only sign a flock is overhead.
Attracting it
Fruiting shrubs — serviceberry, dogwood, winterberry, crabapple. Never seed.
Confused with
Larger, greyer, with rusty undertail coverts and white and yellow markings in the wing. Northern and irruptive.
Grey with a crest but no mask, no yellow, and a thicker bill.
Questions about this bird
How do you identify a cedar waxwing?
A bright yellow band across the tip of the tail. A black mask outlined in white, and a swept-back crest.
What does a cedar waxwing sound like?
A very high thin whistle, easily missed and often the only sign a flock is overhead.
How do you attract a cedar waxwing?
Fruiting shrubs — serviceberry, dogwood, winterberry, crabapple. Never seed.