[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Fwd: Orange-tailed Waxwings



Janet and I have been seeing the orange tipped variant for several 
years.  I had read, but don't have the source, that the ornamental holly 
(not Ilex) is responsible.  I am interested to learn from Donna's posting 
that Cornell holds Lonicera morrowi responsible.

It would be interesting to track the numbers.  We see 1-2 percent (of one 
flock) :).

Tom





>X-Sender: dsbailey@conterra.com
>X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (32)
>Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 22:24:22 -0500
>To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
>From: "Donna S. Bailey" <dsbailey@conterra.com>
>Subject: Orange-tailed Waxwings
>Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
>
>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"

Tom Krakauer
Bahama, NC
tkrakauer@mindspring.com