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 Post subject: Cedar Waxwings
PostPosted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:10 am 
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Just got some nice video of Cedar Waxwings in a Cedar Tree (maybe it is a juniper tree, but close enough.)

And my friendly Yellow-rumped Warbler has been sitting on the window ledge looking in for almost 5 minutes. He keeps trying to fly in.

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 Post subject: Re: Cedar Waxwings
PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:52 pm 
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Right after the last snow I was telling a woman from another part of Edgecliff Village about the pyrrhuloxia (easier to find them than to spell them!) at my feeder. She asked if I didn't mean Cedar Waxwing, but I know the difference, and I hadn't seen any waxwings. But an hour later I saw a whole bunch of them in several trees around the house. They were there just to make a liar out of me! :)

The pyrrhuloxia (I need to keep writing this enough so I don't need to look it up every time!) is to the far left.

This photo is pretty good. I have a cardinal shot and a couple of others with all of these bird butts pointed toward the lens. Everyone together now, spell c-l-o-a-c-a. :lol:

Image

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 Post subject: Re: Cedar Waxwings
PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:48 pm 
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Not sure about the Pyrrhuloxia ID. They are more of a desert species, very rare in your part of the world. Looks more like a female cardinal. Note the shape of the bill. The top of the bill is very straight. The P bird has a very curved bill.

Note the difference in the color and shape of the two bills and compare to your bird. Cardinal is on the right.

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 Post subject: Re: Cedar Waxwings
PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:33 pm 
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No, this is not a cardinal. As it happens, I spent a couple of winters as a park naturalist in a desert
park and that's where I first learned what they are. I spent more time comparing pyrrhuloxia with waxwings
than the cardinals, but the cardinals, even females, are more rosy than these birds.

I came across a dead waxwing in a neighbor's yard and took it home to identify it--they're very distinct.
Up close, waxwings have some very colorful feathers on the end of their wings and tail. Pyrrhuloxia also
considerably smaller than waxwings. The bird above may be a female. I'm not sure if they're resident all
year, but we have a resident flock of pyrrhuloxia on the campus at UT Arlington. I've confirmed this with a
few other campus folks who pay attention to the birds there, just to be sure.

The pyrrhuloxia around here aren't as colorful as the desert ones I've seen.

Here's one of my cardinals, taken on the same day:

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