Subject: Cedar waxwings
Date: Feb 2 18:00:24 1997
From: Bob Mauritsen - rhm at ms.washington.edu


At Foster Island today,

2 varied thrushes
flock of 16 redwing blackbirds making lots of noise
1 hairy woodpecker (m)
1 wren that got away and the usual common birds
1 flock of 12+ waxwings

I assume these must be Cedar waxwings. They flew in tight formation
and landed in the top of the tallest cottonwood north of the freeway.
It was overcast and sprinkling and late in the day, but I could see
the yellow band across the ends of the tails and the crests. They all
looked pretty gray, with the breast and belly a slighty lighter color
than the wings and back. I could also see on most of the birds a
very thin diagonal white line cutting diagonally up across the wing. I've
looked through Peterson's, Stokes', and Nat'l Geographic guides, and
I don't see that line on any waxwing. It seemed longer and thinner
than the one that cuts across the leading edge of Bohemian waxwing
wings. But the only white I see on the Cedar waxwing photos and
drawings is along the trailing edge of the wing or on the back.
Is that what I must have seen?

Bob Mauritsen
Seattle
rhm at ms.washington.edu