The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus Bombycilla. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, a crest, a square-cut tail and pointed wings. Some of the wing feathers have red tips, the resemblance of which to sealing wax gives these birds their common name. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae, although sometimes the family is extended to include related taxa that are more usually included in separate families: silky flycatchers, Hypocolius (Hypocoliidae), Hylocitrea (Hylocitreidae), palmchats (Dulidae) and the Hawaiian honeyeaters (Mohoidae). There are three species: the Bohemian waxwing, the Japanese waxwing and the cedar waxwing.
Waxwing
Cedar waxwing pair passing a berry back and forth during courtship
Cedar waxwing nest and eggs
Two Dead Bohemian Waxwings by Lucas Cranach the elder, ca. 1530
A passerine is any bird of the order Passeriformes which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes, which facilitates perching.
Passerine
Pterylosis or the feather tracts in a typical passerine
Male superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae): This unique songbird shows strong sexual dimorphism, with a peculiarly apomorphic display of plumage in males.
Wieslochia fossil