Waxwings | Bombycillidae

Pestvogels | Ampelis

The plumage is silky and smooth, with hardly any individual feathers showing; the pointed crest, the black mask and a crisp yellow or orange band at the tip of the tail are the marks to look for. On the tips of the inner wing feathers adult birds carry red waxy plates, widened ends of the feather shaft, whose number increases with age and plays a part in the choice of a mate. For much of the year these birds live almost entirely on fruit and berries, swallowed whole and passed quickly through the gut; on fermented fruit they can become visibly drunk. No territory is defended: flocks wander all year from one fruiting shrub to the next, which means they may be present in hundreds one winter and absent the next. Perched in a row they pass a berry or a petal from bill to bill along the line and back again. There is no real song, only a very high thin trill as a contact call. Breeding comes late in the season, as the fruit ripens.