Sleek-Looking Cedar Waxwings

In the previously published article Jolly Sitting On the Tree , I incorrectly identified these guys as chickadees.

Oh, well, I am still a newbie in studying the birds’ world. It was dark. The sun was down. I was wrong.

Those are Cedar Waxwings or Bombycilla cedrum. Very sleek-looking guys, Cedar Waxwings are a silky, shiny mix of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers.

In fall these birds gather by the hundreds to eat berries, filling the air with their high, thin, whistles. In summer you’re as likely to find them flitting about over rivers in pursuit of flying insects, where they show off dazzling aeronautics for a forest bird.

The photo report was made in the Belle Isle Marsh.