The first frost of fall sits lightly upon the ground. A nervous traveler fidgets and looks toward the night sky.  His bright blue coat just doesn’t see to be keeping him warm anymore.  He carefully sets his course using the stars as his guide.  In a flash he is gone, heading south.  Our traveler is both nervous and excited about his upcoming journey of 2,000 miles.  At the same time he is comforted by the fact that he will return in just a few months.  Is this a scene at a rural airport?  Perhaps it describes an adventurous explorer off to discover a strange new world.  The answer may not be quite that exotic but it is no less amazing.  In fact, our traveler is the male, Indigo Bunting.  The Indigo Bunting is an incredible bird that actually gets nervous before long trips and uses the constellations to plan its migratory path. 

   The Indigo Bunting is indeed an interesting creature, but what you see isn’t always what you get.  It would appear that the male is a bright cobalt blue color but this is caused by the diffraction of light through a unique structure of feathers.  In fact, the Indigo Bunting is actually black but appears to be a bright turquoise color in some lighting. Buntings like to nest close to the ground in a variety of low weeds, brambles and shrubs. Buntings prefer abandoned fields, overgrown railroad tracks and unmowed roadsides.   

   This bird has a high-pitched and persistent call and will sit on the most visible and highest branch to share his song with the world.  A male will find the highest perch on the tallest tree and sing loudly.  Some males sing up to 680 songs per hour during mating season.  Research shows that 80% of males learn their songs from older males.  By doing this, most males are able to trick neighboring males into thinking that they are the older, established males.  This results in less confrontations and more potential mates.  Amazingly, this creature travels internationally while wearing a black coat that looks blue and using a disguised voice.  He sounds more look a secret agent than a bird.
   The Indigo Bunting seems to be a study in contradictions.  This is also true with another of our feathered friends.  When you think of the word “silk” it conjures up visions of expensive fabrics worn by a sophisticated member of an ancient monarchy.  The word “gluttony”, on the other hand evokes images of flabby peasants gorging themselves at a dimly lit feast.  These two words, however different they are, actually both describe the Cedar Waxwing.  The bird's name actually means “silky tail of the cedar," which aptly describes the bird when it strikes its stiff military style pose.

   On the other hand, the Cedar Waxwing is also known as “glutton,” “intense forager,” and “the cherry-bird.”  These are all unflattering references to the bird’s reputation as a voracious eater.   The euphemism "she eats like a bird” would actually be an insult if the speaker was referring to a Cedar Waxwing.  The birds eat leaves, fruits, berries, insects and most other things in their path.  Researcher Edward H. Forbush, in 1929, actually observed Cedar Waxwings eat to the point where they were too heavy to fly and had to “sleep it off” before the could get themselves airborne. 

   The contradictions continue when you discover that these gluttonous birds have some of the best manners in the animal kingdom.  Once, Cedar Waxwings were examined after a feast of cedar berries.  Their stomachs were full of berries, as were their throats and their mouths, waiting to be able to swallow.  However, during the feast, the birds would pass a berry down a line from bird to bird, until finally one of the birds would decide to swallow it.  Strangely, for the Cedar Waxwing, a high level of etiquette accompanies a legendary appetite. 

   This beautiful bird also has a dazzling mix of colors: silky white, velvety black, brown, pale blue and vibrant red.  It is in the red appendages that the “sealing wax” is found and the bird’s name is further explained.  These gobs of waxy red color increase in size as the age of the bird increases.  Cedar Waxwings seem to mate with similarly aged birds and they hop sideways towards each other before mating.  These two facts seem to lend credence to the notion that the red waxy gobs are primarily used for mating identification purposes. 

   The Cedar Waxwing is both elegant and gluttonous at the same time.  It looks regal as it eats itself into a sleep induced stupor.  What a strange bird indeed!
Birds of a Feather