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Field
Guide IDs: BREEDING:
Woodland, forest
edge, well-planted suburbs. 1, occ 2
broods. DISPLAYS:
Food sharing, beak
rubbing, male-female "dances," all interpreted as
courtship. NEST:
Variable in
position in tree; bulky or compact, of twigs,
grass, moss, lined with fine grass, moss, rootlets,
pine needles, hair. EGGS:
Pale bluish-gray,
dotted with black, brown. 0.8" (22 mm). DIET:
Includes berries,
flowers, tree sap; ca. 70% fruit avg over the year.
Young fed insects first, but berries added within a
few days. Like Bohemian Waxwing, has reputation for
gluttony. CONSERVATION:
Winters s to c
Panama. Uncommon cowbird host; rejects cowbird
eggs, usu by deserting nest (esp early in nesting
cycle), ejecting egg from nest, or occ by damaging
cowbird egg. NOTES:
Occ nests in small
colonies. Named for bright red waxy substance
exuded from feather shafts of adults' secondaries;
function unknown but may serve as a signal of age
and social status used in pair formation: second -
year birds lack entirely or have very few waxy
tips. Older birds pair preferentially with each
other and have greater nesting success than pairs
of younger birds. Conflicting reports on whether
both male and female incubate. Moves about in
feeding flocks, esp in winter. Berries often passed
from bird to bird. Very tame. Fairly common to
common migrant and winter resident in various
habitats throughout campus, feeding on fruits and
seeds of a number of tree and shrub species. Often
occurs in flocks. Some birds linger into early June
each year, but no evidence of nesting has been
observed on campus or in the vicinity. ESSAYS: REFERENCES:
Leck and Cantor,
1979; McPherson, 1987; Mountjoy and Robertson,
1988; Rothstein, 1976. |
