Unmistakable in their coloring, cedar waxwings have silky brown feathers above and olive-yellow below, with a black mask, yellow tail tips and crest, and red, waxy-looking wing tips. Bohemian waxwings have grayer bellies, white wing patches, and rust color on the tail.

  • According to Tom Carpenter, author of NHGC's The Gardener's Bird Book, cedar waxwings were almost exterminated in the late 1800s because their cured, feathered skins were popular ornaments on Victorian ladies' hatbands.
  • Waxwings like to travel in flocks of a dozen to a hundred. They will line up on limbs or power lines and pass fruit down the ranks till one eats it.
  • Waxwings nest later than most songbirds. This is probably connected to the availability of ripening fruits.
  • Although they eat insects, waxwings love fruits and berries, especially red ones. Cherry trees, currants, chokecherries, and other fruiting plants may bring a flock of waxwings to your yard. Raisins, currants, or chopped apples or figs may attract them to feeders. But be aware of gustatory overload: Waxwings are known to gobble so much fruit that they can't fly!