Cedar Waxwing

 The cedar waxwing is a robin sized songbird that is found in the northern United States and southern Canada. Birds that breed in the northern US are typically year round residents while birds that breed in Canada often migrate south to the US, Mexico and Central America for the winter. Waxwings get their name from the red waxy substance that forms on the tips of some birds wings. Their are two species of waxwings in North America the cedar waxwing and the more northerly bohemian waxwing.

 Cedar waxwings eat mostly fruit. They typically eat the entire fruit discarding the seeds through their mute. Cedar waxwings get their name because they also eat the cones and berries of eastern red cedar, especially during the winter months when other fruits are not available. Sometimes they have been found intoxicated by eating fruit that has sat too long and  started to ferment. During the summer they will also supplement their diet with insects that they catch on the wing or glean from trees. The bird in the photo above is a first year bird while the one in the top photo is a mature adult.

Black-throated Green Warbler

 The black-throated green warbler is a small passerine that breeds in the eastern half of North America. The breeding range includes the south eastern two thirds of Canada, the northern Great Lakes States, and the eastern United States from Maine down to Virginia and the Carolinas. Across Canada they breed in coniferous boreal forests. In the northern United States they typically breed in mixed coniferous\deciduous and in the southern portions of  their range they breed in cypress swamps. This photo was taken in southern Minnesota in May during the Spring migration.

 Like most warbler species teh black-throated green warbler mainly eats insects. Usually it gleans its prey from branches and leaves. It will also sometimes catch insects in flight and occasionally eat berries Since there are not insects in Canada and the northern United States during the winter these warblers migrate to southern Florida, Mexico, Central and northern Southern America. This photo was taken in southern Florida in October.