Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum

Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum. Photograph taken on Whidbey Island, Washington, March 2011. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, March 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum. Photograph taken in the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, November 2019. Photograph courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles. Identification courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.

The Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, is one of three global species of the Bombycilla Genus and the Bombycillidae Family of Waxwings and the only Waxwing found in Mexico. They are named for the red, wax-like tips of the secondary flight-feathers found in the adults. They are sleek and crested with an overall gray-brown plumage. The adults have a sharp black face mask edged with white, a black chin-patch, and variable amounts of red, wax-like “droplets on the tips of their secondaries and pale belly feathers. Their wings are pointed and the tail is square with a distinct yellow band at the terminal tip. The bill is small and the legs and feet are relatively small. The sexes are similar with the male having a more extensive and darker black chin-patch. They are found throughout Mexico at elevations between 500 m (1,650 feet) and 2,000 m (6,600 feet) within open woodlands, shrubby fields, parks and urban areas that have fruit-bearing plants. They winter throughout Mexico but are uncommon in the Yucatán Peninsula. They feed in large flocks that follow ripening food sources with their diets consist primarily of fruits that are supplemented by insects when available. They are considered to be frugivores passing fruit seeds back to the environment intact. From a conservation perspective the Cedar Waxwing is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable to expanding, widely distributed populations which is attributed to human developments.