C is for Cedar Waxwing

 Ok yes I know sort of cheating because the Cedar Waxwing is a part of the waxwing, technical name Bombycillidae, family. However, I chose to use it because this bird was a new addition this year to my life list! I was hiking with my dad in Welaka State Forest on the St Johns Landing trail and noticed a bird that was a little different. I saw the feathers on its head and first thought maybe it was a cardinal yet it was bigger and longer than a cardinal. I took a few photos of it to better identify later since it was hiding in the shade. Much to my delight when I got home I figured it out! It has a tan to yellowish coloring on most of its body with a striking black stripe across the top of its beak and eye. It’s wings are grey, black, white, with a red spot, and the end of the tail feathers are yellow tipped. Really quite a beautiful bird so sleek looking like an oil painting which makes sense from this interesting factoid I found while looking this bird up is the genus name Bombycilla , that I mentioned earlier comes from the Ancient Greek bombux “silk” and Modern Latin villa “tail”…. So there you go 😉 They are here in Florida during the winter which explains why I saw it in February which is lucky because that’s when our weather starts getting warmer. The Cedar Waxwing likes to eat cedar cones, fruit, holly berries, and insects. I hope to see another in the winter and hopefully get a clearer photo 🤗