When winter settles over Central Texas and the live oaks trade cicada buzz for quiet mornings, the region’s birdlife subtly shifts. The colder months bring a fresh cast of avian travelers—small, hardy songbirds escaping harsher northern climates in search of food and refuge. These seasonal visitors often arrive quietly, but their presence brings life to the winter landscape. They remind us that even in the stillness of winter, Central Texas remains very much alive.
The Cedar Waxwing
The cedar waxwing typically measures 5.5 to 6.7 inches long with a wingspan of around 12 inches. In winter, they may puff out their body feathers, causing them to appear more rotund than they truly are. These birds are referred to as “waxwings,” due to the red, waxy wingtips on adult birds. The juveniles lack these waxy wingtips and display different patterning from adults with more dull, greyish-brown plumage and streaky chest feathers. Fruit is the cedar waxwing’s favorite snack, constituting the entirety of their winter diets. In fact, their scientific name, “Bombycilla cedrorum,” translates to “silk tail of the cedars” and can be attributed to their high consumption of cedar berries in the winter. Cedar waxwings are remarkable seed dispersers, able to swallow fruit seeds whole and distribute them far throughout the surrounding area. In the warmer months, they acquire protein from insects, such as mayflies, dragonflies, stoneflies, ants, spruce budworms, and beetles. Catkins and flowers also contribute to their protein intake. They are highly social and not territorial, usually found in flocks and generally content nesting in close proximity to other waxwings. Cedar waxwings are very vocal birds, especially while in flight, often heard vocalizing their 2 most common calls, a sighing whistle and a high-pitched trill.
Adult cedar waxwing on the left (photo: Blue Ridge Country) versus juvenile cedar waxwing on the right (photo: Wings over Skagit).
Cedar waxwings do not follow the predictable north–south migration patterns seen in many songbirds. Instead, they are best described as nomadic, wandering widely in response to the availability of fruiting vegetation. Northern populations generally move south during winter, reaching the southern United States, including Central Texas, and as far south as Panama. Their exact wintering locations can vary dramatically from year to year with large flocks suddenly appearing in an area rich with berries and just as quickly vanishing once food supplies are depleted. This flexible movement strategy allows cedar waxwings to take advantage of ephemeral food sources and explains their sometimes irruptive presence during winter in Central Texas. These birds are most prevalent in orchards, residential areas, and along forest edges where fruiting vegetation is more abundant.
