When surrounded by a large flock, the sound echoes gently from all directions. Other keys are to watch for movements of the flock in flight. Waxwings can be observed in several flight patterns: when the flock is perched in a tree or shrub, birds may be locally active individually or in small groups, in a smooth, graceful, fluttering flight movement, often hovering briefly, especially when engaging in flycatching behavior. When the flock moves together to a new area, the movement can either be in a shimmering, fluttering group movement with frequent changes of direction (with all the birds in unison, in a pattern that resembles the movement of flocks of starlings), or a tight, fast formation as the birds glide very quickly toward a specific destination, again in unison. Rarely one might spot a small number of waxwings moving together without the tight, synchronized harmony that is usually seen.
Migration: flock movement is in a nomadic, unpredictable migration within general annual trends: waxwings are opportunistic feeders who move following the food supply. As they roam areas, they may stay in one place that provides a supply of berries and flowing water for a few days or a few weeks, then after they have been seen every day in great quantities, all of a sudden they just seem to disappear without warning. Even while they are continuing to frequent a site over a period of days, within that time they still move among various sites throughout the day -- they may be seen at a particular time several times during the day in large numbers, small numbers, or not at all as the flock forages among several sites.
Diet: mostly fruits (85%-90%) and insects, especially insect pests. Fruits include primarily berries such as cherries, mulberries, elderberries, grapes, blackberries, blueberries and, during winter travels, toyon and pyracantha (firethorn). They also eat the fruits of date palms and the blossoms of various tree species. Heavy reliance on a predominantly fruit diet generates a strong thirst and these birds also require a ready water supply.
Except during the mating seasons, when they set up nesting pairs (though several pairs may be in relatively close proximity to each other), waxwings travel in large flocks. They are highly social birds.
While they are prodigious feeders, taking advantage of uncertain food supplies, their social structure leads to certain feeding rituals. One of the unusual traits that waxwings are well known for is their social feeding, in which birds will share food. Most commonly, this is done as a mating ritual in which one bird (usually the male) will bring an offering of food (such as a berry, insect or flower petal) to the other. The receiver will accept the gift, hop away to one side, then hop back and give the food back. They will exchange the food back and forth numerous times before one of them (usually the female) actually eats it. This is a ritual I have personally observed a number of times. More rarely reported in others' accounts, and which I have not personally observed, is the ritual of social feeding in which one bird will pluck a berry and, instead of swallowing it, pass it beak-to-beak to the next bird, who will do the same, down and back along a row of birds sitting on a branch or wire. Finally one bird will eat the fruit and they'll do it again, until eventually they just descend on the fruit source and strip it clean or begin their more typical pattern of shuttling back and forth from a "staging area" to their food source.
Even this more common feeding ritual, more typical of their everyday behavior, reflects their social cooperation and sharing which is so different from other flock birds who may band together for their common interest in finding food or protection but will compete vigorously for the food they find. In contrast, waxwings will move about in flocks, and locate food sources where there is plenty of supply for the whole flock. Many times, they will settle into the upper branches of a tall tree near the food source, sort of as a staging area for their feeding operations. Then five or ten birds will shuttle down to the source of the berries, followed shortly by another five or ten birds, and so on, with the flock taking turns or rotating in and out of the food source sequentially and orderly instead of the chaotic competition so common to other bird species. A similar pattern of taking turns in groups is used for bathing when water sources are limited, such as to a bird bath or small puddle.
They eat in voracious quantities -- gorging in gluttonous revelry. On occasion, they will eat fruit that is overripe and eat in such quantities that they will become intoxicated, as reported by numerous observers. The famous artist and naturalist, John James Audubon, would sometimes catch specimens of waxwings for his art by finding them so drunk that they became unable to fly, and just walking out and picking them up. Between their intricate rituals of social feeding and sharing and their tendency to "drink" to intoxicating excess, one could truly call these the "party animals" of the bird world. [An alternative theory of waxwing "drunkenness" is that they as they store berries in the crop, the load may press against the carotid arteries, resulting in impairment or loss of consciousness; however, studies reported by Mark Witmer for Birds of North America evaluated metabolic alcohol processing in waxwings and determined their vulnerability to alcohol intoxication. There is no information as to whether or not they experience hangovers.]
Like many other flock birds such as parrots, parakeets, pigeons/doves, crows/jays and others, their affinity for social interactions renders them relatively tame birds and they can sometimes be coaxed to the hand, especially during the breeding season when they are attracted by such nesting materials as soft string or burlap or other materials that they might not otherwise be able to find.When nesting they do not seem to be especially frightened of humans approaching the nest and (unlike other species) will even continue to care for their offspring that have been handled by human hands.
As fruit eaters, with supplies from orchards often lasting into the fall harvests, waxwings are able to breed later in the season than most birds, and will sometimes produce two broods during the summer.
Females primarily incubate the eggs while males bring food supplies but after eggs have hatched, both males and females take an active role in feeding and nurturing the young.
When fall and winter approach and food supplies become thin (or out of season) they migrate in their unpredictable patterns out of the northern states and into most of the southwestern and southeastern states. (The Cedar Waxwing covers a wider range and in North America is more populous than the Bohemian Waxwing; however the Bohemian Waxwing is widespread throughout all of Europe and Asia; a third species, the Japanese Waxwing, is the most colorful of all the waxwings, and is found only in Japan.)
The Meaning of Waxwings
Birds are not humans, and it is a mistake to try and make them represent human values. But in a purely symbolic manner, we can metaphorically use some of the waxwing traits to demonstrate certain human ideals:
Social harmony and sharing: Waxwings move and behave in large flocks, and maintain complex social rituals such as their ceremonious berry-passing and their smooth, graceful "synchronized" flight formations -- some writers note that they at times they even appear to face in the same direction. These highly social creatures seem to bring an easy gracefulness to their complex social structures, and interact with each other gently and in peaceful harmony, without the displays of dominance and bullying that often characterize large social systems. While the young of many bird species squabble competitively over incoming food brought by parents, even fledgling waxwings begin "practicing" their unusual sharing rituals before they have even fledged.
Gender equality: In many bird species, males and females are highly differentiated. Males may display brighter and more colorful plumage and females may be physically larger in size. Males may also play a dominant role in the "pecking order" (literally -- avian hierarchies is where that term comes from) while females play the dominant role in nurturing the young. In waxwings it is different. Males and females are extremely similar in size and appearance. Despite large and complex social structures, there are not reports of dominance by specific individuals. And both males and females share in feeding and nurturing their young to a degree rare among bird species.
Harmony with nature: The main component of the waxwing diet is fruits. As berries are devoured, the fruit is digested but the seeds are not. As the waxwings fly around, they spread seeds to other areas of favored habitats (the ones they move among), and thus assist in plant reproduction (unlike seed-eaters who actually digest and thus destroy the seeds). They do not take from the environment without giving back far more than what they take. The secondary component of their diet is insects, and among those most targeted are those which are harmful to plants.
Partying: Lest anyone think these birds too saintly, as their dainty rituals of food sharing give way to gluttonous feasting and drunken bacchanals from consuming overripe fruit, we see that these birds are not only social and harmonious, but also gregarious party-goers! It makes us wonder if any of the researchers have made any effort to determine if waxwings enjoy this drunken revelry and if they suffer from morning-after hangovers! Their mysterious and unpredictable comings and goings as they move in irregular seasonal migrations as well as their frequent wanderings throughout the day make them all the more intriguing.
