A cedar waxwing eats a haskap berry in the South Okanagan.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Curtis Zutz
July 17, 2024 - 6:00 AM
Cedar waxwings can be found flocking in the Thompson-Okanagan region all year round, stuffing their beaks with fruits and berries.
Unlike most songbirds that mostly feast on insects, the cedar waxwing eats mostly fruit, especially in the colder months, plucking berries while perching, hanging upside down in midair, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
Cedar berries are the most popular food source, but other fruits are also consumed. Occasionally they consume too much overripe fruit, which leads to intoxication and death.
The bright markings of a cedar waxwing can be seen in this photo taken in the South Okanagan.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Jon Broadbent
Another interesting fact about the birds is their courtship ritual. Males will dance for a female and give her fruit, flower petals or insects. If she is interested they pass the gift back and forth several times until the female eats it.
Cedar waxwings are easy to identify with narrow black masks neatly outlined in white, and wing and tail tips that appear to be dipped in bright paint. The coloured tips have a waxy coating which gives the bird its name.
This cedar waxwing in Summerland snacks on last year's hawthorn berries.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Lory Johnston
Some area photographers have taken some stunning photos of the social little birds this spring and summer.
If you have photos of wildlife you want to share, send them to news@infonews.ca, and we'll share them with our readers.
A cedar waxwing perches on a stem in Paul Lake near Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
A cedar waxwing is spotted in a shrub near Kamloops.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Doug Giles
This cedar waxwing was photographed at Munson Pond in Kelowna.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Cathy Shorey
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
News from © iNFOnews, 2024