Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing 1
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

I've been seeing these guys around a lot this spring - they gather in the dozens in the holly tree next to the house and in the surrounding trees.

Fun Waxwing Facts...

* Cedar Waxwings normally have bright yellow tail tips. However, some with orange tail tips began appearing in this hemisphere in the 1960s. Apparently, about that time, someone introduced a different species of honeysuckle with red berries. Waxwings that eat the berries while they're growing their tail feathers, may have the tips of the feather come in orange.

* Waxwings are one of the few temperate dwelling birds that specializes in eating fruit (frugivorous!). They can survive on eating fruit alone for months. And, I'm told, that unlike many birds that regurgitate seeds from fruit they eat, the Cedar Waxwing sends the seeds out the other end.

For those who were wondering...

* Waxwings are vulnerable to intoxication and even death if they eat fermented fruit. Not unlike other bipeds we know. (Are birds "bipeds??")

So, keep an eye out for tipsy Waxwings.