Animal Summary

Cedar Waxwing - The zoo's cedar waxwing came in February 2009 from the Wisconsin Humane Society Rehab Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After an injury out in the wild and treatment at the Center it was found that it could not be released out in the wild so they donated it to the zoo. It lives in a specially designed exhibit where it gets fruit to eat and can bathe in its bird bath.

Facts

• The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red secretions found on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function is not know, it may help attract mates.
• Because the cedar waxwing eats so much fruit, they occasionally become intoxicated or even die when they run across overripe berries that have started to ferment and produce alcohol.
• Building a nest takes a female cedar waxwing five to six days and may require more than 2,500 individual trips to the nest. They occasionally save time by taking nest materials from other birds' nests.
• Bird bones are mostly thin, hollow, and alight to allow for flight.

Conservation

The cedar waxwing is an animal of least concern for becoming endangered. Their populations are stable.

Threats

There are no threats to the population of cedar waxwings.