Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla Cedrorum
Cedar Waxwings are one of my favorite birds, perhaps because quite a few decades ago a flock of them welcomed my wife and I when we first moved in to our home in north Berkeley. But I also find them stunning when viewed through binoculars, colorful masked bandits that I did not appreciate before seeing them up close. And they are exciting, dynamic birds. They typically fly in flocks of 20-60, zooming around and often landing as a group in a handy tree. They love red berries, and move as a flock from one source of them to the next. This makes American Robins, permanent residents that also like the red berries and think of them as theirs, very nervous--so when the Cedar Waxwings are around, the American Robins cluster in defensive groups and try to defend their food supplies, or at least eat the berries before the Waxwings get them. The photo on the left shows a dozen Cedar Waxwings at my home on February 18, 2013, and there were many more in the same tree but outside the photo's frame. The photo on the right shows a close-up of one Cedar Waxwing that shows its mask, crest, and red, yellow and orange wing tips; this was also at my home and taken the same day. (Click on images to see enlarged versions.)