Bird
Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 23 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 133 counties and cities
- Habitats
- 23

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 133 counties and cities
- Habitats
- 23
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Virginia 23
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops




Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground


Streams, rivers and their banks


Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.
High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.
Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.
Tree plantations and managed pine
Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.
Other habitats in its models (128)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.
In Virginia 2
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Winter.
Elsewhere in the South (72)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
- Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
- Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter.
- Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
- Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Winter.
- Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
- Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
- Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Winter.
- Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- South Florida Bayhead Swamp Winter.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
- South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Winter.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Winter.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
- Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
- Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Northeast (4)
- Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
Midwest (7)
- North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
- North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (43)
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
- Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
- Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
- Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Winter.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- In both seasonal models, Cedar Waxwing is associated with forest edges rather than deep forest interiors.
Seasons in Virginia
- Year-round: nests here, in all 133 counties and cities.
Fruit and seed plants
Plants in genera this bird was recorded eating, from diet studies across North America. Not a record of what it eats in your state.
45 native plants in Virginia. 8 not suggested for gardens
- American PlumPrunus americana
- Chickasaw PlumPrunus angustifolia
- ChokecherryPrunus virginiana var. virginiana
- Fire CherryPrunus pensylvanica
- Smooth BlackberryRubus canadensis
- Black RaspberryRubus occidentalis
- Southern DewberryRubus trivialis
- Allegheny BlackberryRubus allegheniensis
- Northern DewberryRubus flagellaris
- Pennsylvania BlackberryRubus pensilvanicus
- Sand BlackberryRubus cuneifolius
- Swamp DewberryRubus hispidus
- Smooth BlackhawViburnum prunifolium
- Possumhaw ViburnumViburnum nudum
- Rusty BlackhawViburnum rufidulum
- Smooth Arrow WoodViburnum recognitum
- Southern ArrowwoodViburnum dentatum
- Witherod ViburnumViburnum cassinoides
- Canadian ServiceberryAmelanchier canadensis
- Allegheny ServiceberryAmelanchier laevis
- Downy ServiceberryAmelanchier arborea
- Roundleaf ServiceberryAmelanchier sanguinea
- Coastal ServiceberryAmelanchier obovalis
- Downy ArrowwoodViburnum rafinesqueanum
- HobblebushViburnum lantanoides
- Mapleleaf ViburnumViburnum acerifolium
- Red GrapeVitis palmata
- Running ServiceberryAmelanchier spicata
- Vitis cinerea var. baileyanaVitis cinerea var. baileyana
- Vitis cinerea var. floridanaVitis cinerea var. floridana
- Fox GrapeVitis labrusca
- Frost GrapeVitis vulpina
- Riverbank GrapeVitis riparia
- Silver Leaf GrapeVitis aestivalis var. bicolor
- Summer GrapeVitis aestivalis
- Juniperus virginiana var. virginianaJuniperus virginiana var. virginiana
- Red MulberryMorus rubra
Native here, not suggested for gardens
- Canada Plum Prunus nigra Rare or protected plant
- Beach Plum Prunus maritima Rare or protected plant
- Susquehanna Cherry Prunus susquehanae Rare or protected plant
- Bristly Blackberry Rubus setosus Rare or protected plant
- Nannyberry; Sheepberry; Nanny Berry; Sheep Berry Viburnum lentago Rare or protected plant
- Nantucket Serviceberry Amelanchier nantucketensis Rare or protected plant
- Sand Grape Vitis rupestris Rare or protected plant
- Ground Juniper Juniperus communis var. depressa Rare or protected plant
Matched by plant genus. Avian Diet Database
Also on these plants
- American Robin 37 of these plants
- Hummingbird Clearwing 13 of these plants
- Spring Azure 13 of these plants
- Red-spotted Purple 10 of these plants
- Northern Cardinal 8 of these plants
- Wood Thrush 6 of these plants
- Cecropia Moth 4 of these plants
- Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 4 of these plants
- Io Moth 4 of these plants
- Promethea Moth 4 of these plants
- Eastern Bluebird 1 of these plants
- Juniper Hairstreak 1 of these plants
None of the other listed species.
Also found in its main habitats
Its main habitats in Virginia, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.
Cedar Waxwing uses many habitats in Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.
Dry forests and woodlands
Birds 69
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
Plants 230
- American ChestnutCastanea dentata
- Eastern Winged SumacRhus copallinum var. latifolia
- Godfrey's ThoroughwortEupatorium godfreyanum
- White ThoroughwortEupatorium album
- Sessileleaf Tick-trefoilDesmodium sessilifolium
- Leavenworth's SedgeCarex leavenworthii
- Southern Whitetinge SedgeCarex albicans var. australis
- Southern LoosestrifeSteironema tonsum
- Carolina LilyLilium michauxii
- Tall BellflowerCampanulastrum americanum
- Bigleaf SnowbellStyrax grandifolius
- Delicate Rabbit-tobaccoPseudognaphalium micradenium
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Birds 87
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
Plants 381
- Elliott's BlueberryVaccinium elliottii
- Possumhaw HollyIlex decidua
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda
- Appalachian Orange ConeflowerRudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- Southern Shagbark HickoryCarya carolinae-septentrionalis
- Spreading SedgeCarex laxiculmis
- Louisiana SedgeCarex louisianica
- Common Cup-plantSilphium perfoliatum
- Smooth Hedge-nettleStachys tenuifolia
- Virginia Cup-plantSilphium connatum
- Coville's PhaceliaPhacelia covillei
Swamps
Birds 83
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Eurasian WigeonAnas penelope
- King RailRallus elegans
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- RedheadAythya americana
- Tricolored HeronEgretta tricolor
- Black RailLaterallus jamaicensis
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Plants 318
- Dense-flower SmartweedPersicaria densiflora
- Carolina AshFraxinus caroliniana
- Water HickoryCarya aquatica
- Bent SedgeCarex styloflexa
- Cypress-swamp SedgeCarex joorii
- Fringed SedgeCarex crinita
- Ravenfoot SedgeCarex crus-corvi
- Weak Stellate SedgeCarex seorsa
- Swamp ButtercupRanunculus septentrionalis
- Drooping BulrushScirpus lineatus
- Shield Marsh-pennywortHydrocotyle verticillata
- Spreading BulrushScirpus divaricatus
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Cedar Waxwing Avoids forest interior
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Avian Diet Database



















































































