Such an enchanting bird, the Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum). Its head a buff color trickling down the neck to gradually become soft shades of gray. These neutral colors are accented with small spots of brilliant color. The waxy wingtips of scarlet that are gained through age. The tips of the tail feathers a bright sunflower yellow. Its eyes “covered” with a narrow black mask outlined in white.

I’ve mentioned the tips of the tail feathers, being bright sunflower yellow. But that isn’t always the case. In the 1960s Cedar Waxwings began appearing with orange tips of their tail feathers rather than the normal yellow. Look at the photo immediately above at the two birds. The one more in focus and to the left has that orange coloring on its tail.

This has happened because this bird with the orange tipped tail has been eating the berries of a nonnative invasive bush, Morrow’s Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii). The birds that eat these berries absorb the carotinoid pigment of the berries which change the color of the tail tips as they are growing.

Birds! Such fascinating creatures!

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