Cedar Waxwings

Description:

Small waxwing, red-brown upperparts, pale slate-gray rump, buff underparts. Head is crested, has black mask with narrow white band below. Yellow-tipped tail, white undertail coverts. Wings have red wax-like tips on secondaries from which it gets its name. Black bill, legs and feet.

Habitat:

This flock of Cedar Waxwings was perched high in the top of a hackberry tree. I think they were trying to decide if it was safe, with me standing there, to descend on a Yaupon Holly in our neighbor's yard, that still had berries on it. They would spook and all fly off, only to return a few moments later. Eventually, some flew down to the Yaupon, and the rest flew off.

Notes:

Cedar Waxwings are the most specialized fruit-eating birds. Rather than regurgitating the fruit seeds, they eliminate them with their waste. Orange, rather than yellow, terminal bands now seen on some tails are attributed to pigments found in an alien honeysuckle fruit introduced to their diet.