Cedar Waxwing

    The cedar waxwing is a beautiful backyard bird. It has a crest on its head and a short thin beak. From the bill to the back of its crest it is black. It looks sort of like a mask. It has long, brownish-gray wings with red tips on the ends of them. It has a brownish belly near the tail. The tail has a wide yellow band across it. The male and female look about the same. It is about 7 112 inches long and has a wingspread of 1 1 to 11 1/2 inches long. Cedar waxwings are found across Canada and in the northern USA. They make a cup shaped nest. The male and female build the nest of twigs and soft grasses. The nests are in trees 6 to 25 feet above the ground. The cedar waxwing's favorite food is berries. They may come in large flocks to feed on berry bushes. A bush can be stripped in a matter of minutes. Often they will share berries with others in the flock. They will also eat cherries from a cherry tree.

    The cedar waxwings live in flocks and wander across the country in search of berry bushes. Their heads make them easy to spot. They will sometimes clean each other's feathers. Their nesting season is from June through August. Usually one brood of babies is born each year. The female lays 4 to 6 eggs. The eggs are blue with brown markings. The female sits on the eggs 1 0 to 12 days. Both parents feed the babies after they are born. Cedar waxwings get their name from their red wax-like wing tips and because they eat the small blueberry-like cones of the cedar tree. They are also called cedar birds, cherry birds or Canadian robins some places.

by

Jessica , Cody and David