Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum
General Description
An 18-cm-long bird with a crest, yellow-tipped tail, silky plumage, and waxy red tips on the secondaries; brown above; pale yellow belly; white undertail coverts; juveniles has dark streaking (NGS 1983).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Differs from the bohemian waxwing in smaller size, browner plumage (vs. grayish), white undertail coverts (vs. cinnamon), and lack of white and yellow markings in wing.
Distribution
Montana Range
Observations in Montana: 1699
Montana CountiesBeaverhead, Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Garfield, Glacier, Golden Valley, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Lincoln, Madison, McCone, Meagher, Mineral, Missoula, Musselshell, Park, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders, Sheridan, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wheatland, Wibaux, Yellowstone
Migration
Bozeman area normal migration periods: Jun 5 - Jun 20 and Sep 20 - Nov 1.
Habitat
Habitats include deciduous, coniferous, and mixed woodlands—especially open forests and riparian areas of deserts and grasslands; farms, orchards, conifer plantations, and suburban gardens also popular.
Food Habits
Diet consists of fleshy fruits and insects.
Reproductive Characteristics
Usually single brooded (ocassionally two) species with 3-5 eggs per brood. Incubation period 10-16 days. Young able to fly 14-18 days after hatch.