January 3, 2026

Two Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) sitting in a tree looking for berries.

The Waxwing in full view has a tail with yellow tips. This is the normal color. Beginning in the 1960s some Cedar Waxwings began to develop orange tail tips. This is the result of their eating the berries of the non-native Morrow’s Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) as it was just getting recognition as an invasive.

Cedar Waxwings that eat large amounts of the berries of Morrow’s Honeysuckle will develop orange tail tips, as you can see on the barely visible Waxwing in the left of the photo. As the consumption of Morrow’s Honeysuckble berries stops and the bird goes through its next full molt, its yellow tips will return.

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