Cedar Waxwing

The Cedar Waxwing is a sleek, medium-sized songbird distinguished by a crest, a black mask, and bright red waxy tips on the secondary wing feathers. Its plumage is remarkably silky and smooth, featuring a soft blend of soft browns, grays, and bright yellow tail bands.

Soft silky gray-brown grading into pale yellow and white at the tip, featuring a characteristic subterminal dark band or pale edging typical of certain contour feathers

Pennaceous at the upper tip portion transitioning into a plumulaceous (fluffy) downy base, with a rudimentary or absent afterfeather

Exceptionally silky, smooth, and soft to the touch with a matte finish, characteristic of the velvety plumage of waxwings

Silky texture, soft gray coloration transitioning to yellowish/whitish tips, and small rounded body contour shape

Open woodlands, forest edges, orchards, suburban areas, and parks with an abundance of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs

Breeds across the northern half of North America and winters throughout the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America

Important seed dispersers for many native shrubs and berry-producing trees, feeding heavily on fruit supplemented by insects in summer

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), which is larger, has chestnut undertail coverts, and yellow wing markings

Cedar waxwings can become intoxicated or even die from eating fermented overripe berries in late winter; they frequently pass fruit back and forth along a branch in courtship rituals

Good condition with some natural fraying at the fluffy proximal base; vane is mostly intact with minor wear