Cedar Waxwing
(Bombycilla cedrorum)

Overview

Summary

© John Reaume
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Cedar Waxwing is a familiar bird that nests in open woodlands and shrubby old fields across Canada. The Breeding Bird Survey indicates an overall moderate increase in abundance since about 1970. Cedar Waxwings have benefited from human activities through increased fruit availability (Witmer et al. 1997).

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

The Cedar Waxwing is a nomadic frugivore, and, as such, is thought to benefit from an increase in fruiting trees and shrubs due to increased planting in suburban and agricultural areas and/or natural succession (Witmer et al. 1997). However, because of its diet, the species is thought to be particularly affected by pesticides that may be heavily applied to orchards. Collisions with vehicles and windows may also be elevated due to the location of fruiting trees and shrubs near houses and along roadways (Witmer et al. 1997).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Witmer, M.C., D.J. Mountjoy and L. Elliot. 1997. Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Witmer, M.C., D.J. Mountjoy and L. Elliot. 1997. Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)