Waxwings

Description

Waxwings are sleek songbirds with pointed wings and unique, waxy, red tips at the ends of their secondary feathers. Waxwings specialize in sugary fruit, especially berries. They generally inhabit open woods and edges, and have become more common in developed areas because of ornamental plantings that provide berries. They also eat insects, which they often catch by flying out from exposed perches. Waxwings are social and are usually found in flocks regardless of season. These birds are migratory, but are quite nomadic in their movements. They are monogamous and often nest in loose colonies. Females generally build the nest and incubate the young. This family has only three species: the Bohemian Waxwing, a Holarctic species, found across northern Eurasia and North America; the Cedar Waxwing, which nests in North America and winters to South America; and the Japanese Waxwing in East Asia.