Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyBombycillidae (Waxwings)
- GenusBombycilla (Waxwings)
- SpeciesBombycilla cedrorum (Cedar Waxwing)
About the Cedar Waxwing
The cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It is a medium-sized bird that is mainly brown, gray, and yellow. Some of the wing feathers have red tips, which resemble sealing wax, giving the bird its common name. 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. Its diet includes cedar cones, fruit, holly berries, and insects. The cedar waxwing is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
The three species of waxwings were moved to their own genus, Bombycilla, by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1808. Bombycilla is Vieillot's attempt at Latin for "silktail", translating the German name Seidenschwänze. Vieillot thought that motacilla, Latin for wagtails, was derived from mota for "move" and cilla, which he thought meant "tail"; however, Motacilla actually combines motacis, a mover, with the diminutive suffix -illa. He then combined this "cilla" with the Latin bombyx, meaning silk. The specific epithet cedrorum is Latin for "of the cedars".
��2�... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Cedar Waxwing in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve
Great-tailed Grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Tropical Mockingbird
Mimus gilvus
Social Flycatcher
Myiozetetes similis
Melodious Blackbird
Dives dives
Yucatán Jay
Cyanocorax yucatanicus
Brown Jay
Psilorhinus morio
Hooded Oriole
Icterus cucullatus
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Clay-colored Thrush
Turdus grayi
Yellow-throated Euphonia
Euphonia hirundinacea
Green Jay
Cyanocorax yncas
American Redstart
Setophaga ruticilla
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.