The place for wild birds.

Cedar Waxwings

There are ten photos on this page. As with our page on Baltimore Orioles, although most of our gallery pages are designed wherever possible to give you an idea of how a bird of each species develops from nestling to adult, this page tells three stories of this beautiful species.

The first story is how orphaned Cedar Waxwings grow when raised at The Place for Wild Birds. The second story is how one baby bird of this species came to us with a broken leg and was healed, rehabilitated and eventually released. The third story here is how we also achieve success helping injured adults, as exemplified by one particularly lovely specimen.


Raising Orphans

Rehabilitating a Cat-Attacked Nestling

Helping an Injured Adult

 

 

 


Raising Orphans
(five photos)

1. Orphaned Cedar Waxwing,
very fat, mid-nestling
(We feed them well here!)

Orphaned Cedar Waxwing, very fat, mid-nestling.

2. Orphaned Cedar Waxwing,
mid-nestling

Orphaned Cedar Waxwing, mid-nestling.

3. Late Nestling Cedar Waxwing

Late Nestling Cedar Waxwing.

4. Fledgling Cedar Waxwing

Fledgling Cedar Waxwing.

5. Juvenile Cedar Waxwings,
ready for release

Juvenile Cedar Waxwings, ready for release.

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Rehabilitating a Cat-Attacked Nestling
(three photos and some text)

1. Cat-attacked Cedar Waxwing, mid-nestling,
with a broken leg (an "open fracture") that has been set

Cat-attacked Cedar Waxwing, mid-nestling, with a broken leg (an "open fracture") that has been set.

2. Cedar Waxwing,
open leg fracture has healed,
wearing a foot brace

(Can you see the bump on the leg
where the bone has healed? This is a normal
development called a "healing callous,"
and eventually it will shrink down to nearly nothing.)

Cedar Waxwing, open leg fracture has healed, wearing a foot brace.

3. Cedar Waxwing,
now able to use the healed leg and foot,
ready for the aviary

Cedar Waxwing, now able to use the healed leg and foot, ready for the aviary.

Although we have been able to help many birds like this one, the path back to health is not easy path for them or us after the traumatic experiences which have brought them to us. For example, terrible injuries and strong antibiotics often take a toll on the normal development of plumage. Here the leg (and other wounds) have healed, but this bird must now molt and grow all new feathers in order to survive in the wild.

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Helping an Injured Adult
(one photo and some text)

Adult male Cedar Waxwing
recovering from being hit by a car

Adult male Cedar Waxwing, recovering from being hit by a car.

Cedar Waxwing's Nest, 6" (15.24 cm) wide by 2½" (6.35 cm) tall.These quiet, sweet natured birds travel in flocks and eat berries. Cedar Waxwings exhibit an especially endearing behavior with each other in the wild: they will sit on a branch in a line, and pass a berry down the row, from bird to bird, until one swallows it! This is a species that is gentle in temperament, as well as beautiful in appearance.

Cedar Waxwings nest in trees or shrubs, sometimes in colonies, and they have been known to line their nests with wool or human hair. The young are fed insects as well as berries. Waxwings generally do not migrate but are nomadic and follow the food supply. This species has a black mask, and striking yellow or orange tail tips.


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This website and all its contents belong to The Place for Wild Birds, Inc.
Copyright © 2002, all rights reserved. Reproduce only with permission.
All photographs by Walter S. Bezaniuk. Most illustrations by Kathleen Frisbie.
Site design and some illustrations by Sara.