Elegant

This baby Cedar Waxwing may be young but she's already elegant. TINKERBELL was found after hitting a window at the Historical Center. Luckily someone saw her and called me. At first there didn't seem to be anything wrong but it turned out her right wing was hurt. Not broken but probably bruised. She, and I say she but don't know the actual sex, has been at IBR for over a week now and yesterday showed a great improvement when she tried to fly.

Waxwings have that name due to the red tips that show up on the ends of some wing feathers near their elbows. They are really wax and show up as they age, this baby has none yet as she was hatched this year. With their little black masks and overall muted color they seem to be rather dull looking but they are the most wonderful of birds.

TINKERBELL had taken a slight bath so her chest is wet. She should have also washed her face as you can see the strawberry residue on her beak. And she does love her berries. So far she's managed to scarf down about a quart of them every few days. Yesterday I found some ripe berries on my cotoneaster plant, she likes them too. Huckleberrys are also favored but I haven't found any of them yet.