Orange-tailed Waxwings

["Donna S. Bailey" <dsbailey@conterra.com>]

The process at work to produce the orange-tipped tail in Cedar Waxwings is
dietary, at least according to Cornell, who did some research into this some
years ago.  I've never seen an orange-tailed Cedar Waxwing but I would like
to see one.

From the Cornell website 

http://birds.cornell.edu/bow/CEDWAX/index.html

"In the East, forest regeneration and the planting of fruit-bearing
ornamentals and crops has led to large increases in Cedar Waxwing
populations. From 1965 to 1979, the population doubled. The changing diet of
Cedar Waxwings brought about an interesting effect: the appearance of
orange, rather than yellow, terminal bands on the tail, a characteristic not
noted before 1950. This color change is attributed to pigments contained in
the fruit of the alien honeysuckle Lonicera morrowii, a recent addition to
the Cedar Waxwing diet."

Donna Bailey
Winnsboro, SC
e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com
URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
     "Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina"