How birds get their name...

Cedar Waxwings

A mature Cedar Waxwing sporting six red “waxwing” tips on each wing.

A common and beautiful bird, the Cedar Waxwing gets its name from its voracious appetite for the berries on cedar trees, combined with red wing tips that resemble sealing wax. These tips are actually waxy secretions composed of astaxanthin - an organic chemical that creates the red color. The number and size of the red tips increase on the adults as they get older so it is assumed that this feature may be related to mate selection and improving social status in their flocks. Pairs of older birds with more than six red tips often nest earlier and have larger broods.

Another view of the distinctive red tips of a more mature adult

Cedar waxwings are very sociable birds flocking together for feeding and roosting at night. They can be rather non-territorial when nesting by locating their nests in small clusters near other waxwings.

Two younger birds - lacking the red wing tips - feeding together

Cedar Waxwings are a harmonious species that thrive on coexisting together to find food and share the bounty.