Exceptionally large flocks of up to one thousand birds have been reported, but the flocks I’ve had the pleasure of knowing have been in the seventy-five to one hundred bird range. Waxwings have a crest that often lies flat and droops over the back of the head. The tan blends with the pale lemon-yellow of the belly and the soft dove-gray of the wings, which are wide and pointed like swallows’ wings and reach a twelve-inch span. It appeared to have a small tip of orangish color on wing tip. It is named for the waxy red tips on some of the wing feathers. Obviously there are other berried bushes in our area, including two very large holly bushes in our front yard; but this venerable holly is so big and sturdy that its branches can withstand the weight of multiple medium-size birds, making it an attractive banquet bush. Albatrosses (4) American sparrows, towhees and juncos (40) Auks, murres and puffins (9) Bird of prey (25) Bitterns and herons (12) For example, the adult’s extended, high-pitched whistle when taking flight differs from a begging juvenile’s call, which is relentlessly repeated in rapid sequence … like a whining child’s “call.” This trait crosses species, apparently. The movement of migratory cedar waxwings is labeled “erratic.” They often don’t return to locations previously visited, but I think the allure of our berry-laden bush may call to different flocks on different years since the berries are efficiently stripped each year by the beautiful birds who seem to view us as a fly-through eatery—like a McDonald’s that’s strictly for the birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae, although Phainoptila is sometimes included. Cedar waxwings are social all year long, nesting together in breeding grounds, grooming each other, and traveling together when it’s time to move from the chilled northern areas of their range to warmer climates, which to them equals more berries and sugary fruits growing on the bush and vine. The tail is fairly short and square-tipped. Lucile waits for and watches cedar waxwings on the high bluffs of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where she teaches English at Hinds Community College, works at the eclectic Attic Gallery, and accepts with wide-eyed wonder the gifts Nature offers. Its diet includes cedar cones, fruit, and insects. Unlike us humans, they don’t go shopping for sunscreen, flip-flops, and cheap sunglasses, but simply take wing when the food gets scarce and the migratory switch is flipped. I don’t need the berries, and there’ll be more anyway after the blossoms and bees come in spring, as Nature performs her circular dance around the maypole and keeps the cycle of life spinning, spinning, and bringing cedar waxwings back to me next year. It is a native of North and Central America, breeding in open wooded areas in southern Canada and wintering in the southern half of the United States, Central America, and the far northwest of South America. A spiffy black mask, the likes of which Zorro or any bandito would envy, covers the waxwing’s face and ends in a point behind the eye, giving it the look women try to emulate with black eyeliner. The nest is a cup of twigs lined with grass and moss which is built in a tree.see.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_waxwing Japanese waxwing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaen.wikipedia.orgThe Japanese waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) is a fairly small passerine bird of the waxwing family found in north-east Asia. The call of the cedar waxwing is described as “a high-pitched hissy whistle” that sounds like bzeee, bzeee, et cetera—or a sibilant skeee or sreee, depending on the ear of the listener—and “buzzy trills.” Frequency, pitch, and length of call depend on the situation and objective. A treat to find in your binocular viewfield, the Cedar Waxwing is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers. In February, cedar waxwing flocks are berry hungry. When clumps of berries are tantalizingly far out on a thin twig, the birds form a line along the branch while one bird eases within reach of the twig, picks the berries and passes them one at a time to the closest bird, who passes them down to others, who pass them along until all the birds on the branch have had their share of the berries in a “pay it forward” way. The three subspecies show only minor differences in appearance. The wings are broad and pointed, like a starling’s. It has mainly buff-grey plumage, black face markings and a pointed crest. There are three species, the Bohemian waxwing (B. garrulus), the Japanese waxwing (B. japonica) and the cedar waxwing (B. cedrorum) seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WaxwingThe cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It is a medium-sized, mostly brown, gray, and yellow bird named for its wax-like wing tips. They were brown with pale yellow underside and a bright yellow tail. The squared off tail ends in a bright yellow band, which becomes a darker orange when a bird consumes the berries of an imported ornamental honeysuckle, an example of Adelle Davis’ “We are what we eat” nutritional comment. It’s a polite and unselfish frenzy, however, with the flock taking care of its own. The birds can also hover like elephantine hummingbirds while snagging a particularly succulent berry at the tip of a branch.