Bombycilla cedrorum
What is known about cedar waxwing song?
• No song
• Two types of calls (Howell 1973 cited in Witmer et al. 2020):
– Buzzy or trilled high-pitched notes made up of rapidly repeated elements
– High-pitched, hissy whistles that are tonal in quality
How and when are calls acquired?
• Young form small flocks as early as 3–4 days after fledging
• In late Aug mixed flocks of adults and young begin to form
Early formation of flocks of fledglings is an indication that calls are not learned or are learned as nestlings or from other juvenile later.
Other question: Will adult flock accept a bird we release to them? Should we release early into fledgling flock?
How can we facilitate learning?
• Raise several together
• Release into flocks as soon as possible
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References:
Howell, J. C. (1973). Communicative behavior in the Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) and the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). Phd Thesis, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Witmer, M. C., D. J. Mountjoy, and L. Elliott (2020). Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cedwax.01