The Painted Cedar Waxwings: A Stunning Bird Profile

Of all the birds that pass through Portland, none looks less real than the cedar waxwing.

Its plumage is so sleek it seems airbrushed on.

A fawn crest, a black mask, and a tail tipped in bright yellow appear.

Those tiny red droplets on the wings look like beads of sealing wax and give the bird its name.

Additionally, people see my waxwing photos and ask if they’re paintings.

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This cedar waxwing moment gives me the instant every photographer waits for—the takeoff when smooth plumage unfolds.

Moreover, one wingbeat earlier, it was an ornament on a branch.

Then, one later, it was gone.

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Fall is when the waxwings and the light conspire, and cedar waxwing sightings accompany the scene.

The flocks sweep through in autumn, working the berry trees.

For a few weeks, the birds and the leaves wear the same palette.

Additionally, amber, rust, and gold shade the scene.

Catch one in that low fall sun.

The frame composes itself: a painted bird among painted leaves.

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Then there is the look, a quiet, charged moment that lingers in memory for a long time. The cedar waxwing raises its silky crest into a full swept-back hood when something has its attention. This time, the something was me.

It turned and looked straight back over its shoulder. Moreover, its mask was sharp, its hood up, one dark eye taking my measure. Being noticed by a wild bird is a small, strange honor. You hold still, you take the picture, and you say thank you under your breath.

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And here is where the cedar waxwing name comes from. Look closely at the wing. Those tiny, brilliant-red droplets on the feather tips look like beads of sealing wax. They’re the wax in waxwing.

The color is real pigment from the berries the bird lives on, concentrated into ornament. A berry-eater literally wearing its diet on its wings. Most people go a lifetime without seeing them. The bird has to hold still, in good light, and this one did all three.

A last thing worth knowing about these painted birds is that they are almost never alone. They move in flocks, sweeping from berry tree to berry tree.

Moreover, they are famous for their manners. Perched in a row, they pass a berry down the line, beak to beak. One of them finally eats it.

Additionally, in late fall they get tipsy on fermented berries, the price of a diet made of sugar and patience.

A bird that shares its food wears its diet as ornament. The cedar waxwing embodies that behavior.

Keep an eye on the berry trees. When the waxwings come through, it only lasts a few days — and it’s one of the prettiest shows Portland puts on.

These photographs are lightly enhanced — the birds are exactly as I found them, with a little polish added to some of the backgrounds to let each one shine.