5 Birds That Look Like Cedar Waxwing

Many small birds resemble the Cedar Waxwing, but their bright orange plumage makes it easy to distinguish them. However, these birds are often mistaken for other birds with similar traits.

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So, what birds look like cedar waxwing? The most common birds that look like cedar waxwing are bohemian waxwing, northern cardinal, pyrrhuloxia, phainopepla, and vermilion cardinal. Most probably, you’ll confuse bohemian waxwing with cedar waxwing.

In today’s blog, we’re going to talk about these cedar waxwing look-alike birds, how to identify them, their similarities, and the main differences they have. So, after completing the blog, you’ll never mistake them as cedar waxwing.

Previously we’ve covered a few blogs on such topics. You can check them here:

Most Common Birds That Look Like Cedar Waxing

#1. Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian waxwing is one of the most common and most confusing birds that resemble our cedar waxwing. This bird can be found in open green forests, city parks, forest patches, and other open areas with plenty of fruits in the northern forests of North America and the Palearctic.

Bohemian Waxwing Birds Look Like Cedar Waxwing

Characteristics

It has a prominent crest on its head and a black mast on its peachy face.
It’s a full-bellied and thick-necked bird.
Wings are broad and pointed.
Most adults are overall gray.
And white rectangle on the wings.
They have yellow-tipped on their fairly short tail.
The usual length is 16 to 19 cm.

Similarities

Since both are from the exact family origin, they have multiple similarities. The crest and the black mask on the peachy face are similar to each other. The bohemian and cedar waxwing both have a yellow-tipped short tails.

Except for a few minor color differences and body shape, they’re pretty much alike. Both of their wings are broad and pointed.

Differences

Finding the differences between the bohemian and the cedar Waxwing is difficult. If you’re not looking carefully, you can easily make a mistake. The Bohemian waxwing has an overall greyish-brown color while the cedars are pale brown to soft gray most of its body.

The body of the bohemian is full-bellied and has a comparatively small head than the cedar. Cedar waxwing is a sleek bird with a larger head. The belly of a cedar waxwing has a bright yellow tip, while the bohemian has pale brown.

#2. Northern Cardinal

Northern cardinal is one of the most common birds in the USA, which has a few similarities with our Cedar Waxing. The usual habitat of this species is distributed throughout North and Central America. They prefer gardens, shrublands, wetlands, and woodlands for living.

Northern Cardinal Birds Look Like Cedar Waxwing

Characteristics

Northern cardinal is a relatively large long-tailed songbird.
It features a short and thick bill.
It has a prominent upward pointed crest.
The usual length is about 21 to 23 cm.
Male cardinals are brilliant red-colored with a reddish bill and black face.
Females are pale brown with reddish tinges on wings.

Similarities

Mostly the female northern cardinals have similarities with the cedar waxwing. Both of the species have crests on their head. The color of female cardinals and cedar waxwings seem similar from afar, and the size is around the same too.

Differences

The bill is thicker and shorter on northern cardinals than the cedar waxwing. Also, northern cardinals have a longer tail. And the yellow tip on the tail of cedar waxwing is absent on northern cardinal. The upper body is black on the cedar waxwing.

#3. Pyrrhuloxia

Pyrrhuloxia is a medium-sized song bird you can sometimes mistake for cedar waxwing. This bird is native to the American southwest and northern Mexico. They prefer scrub, dry grasslands, cactus, and gardens for living.

Pyrrhuloxia Birds Look Like Cedar Waxwing

Characteristics

Pyrrhuloxia is a medium sized songbird with a tall crest.
This stocky bird has a long tail.
The heavy and short yellow bill can crack seed easily.
Adult males are overall greyish with few red highlights.
Adult females are greyish with a lesser red highlight.
The average length is around 21 cm.

Similarities

The crest on the pyrrhuloxia is quite similar to cedar waxwing. The average length is identical between these two species too. The female pyrrhuloxia has some color similarities with the cedar waxwing. Even though the color isn’t the same, the light greyish color can confuse you easily.

Differences

Looking carefully, you can easily differentiate the pyrrhuloxia from the cedar waxwing. Their bill color is different. The red highlights on the Pyrrhuloxia are absent on cedar waxwings.

The tail is larger on pyrrhuloxia. The yellow tip on the cedar waxwing tail and yellow highlights in the lower are similar to pyrrhuloxia. The face masks on these species are different, while it’s red on pyrrhuloxia and black on cedar waxwing.

#4. Phainopepla

Phainopepla is a tropical bird found in central California, southern Utah, South to central Mexico, and a few more parts of Central America. This species prefers orchards, Joshua tree woodlands, oak, and sycamore woodlands for living.

Phainopepla Birds Look Like Cedar Waxwing

Characteristics

Phainopepla is a slender-bodied songbird.
It has a distinctive crest and a long tail.
Adult males are glossy black with large white patches on their wings and red eyes.
Females also have red eyes, but their color is mousy grayish brown.
The average length of this bird is around 17 to 21 cm.

Similarities

There are very few similarities between cedar waxwings and phainopeplas. Especially, the crest on the phainopepla and their body shape have the highest resemblance to today’s bird. The female phainopepla’s color also has some similarities with the cedar waxwing.

Differences

The phainopepla doesn’t have any face mask like the cedar waxwing. The tail is also longer than today’s bird. Overall, the phainopepla is black and grey with a few light white highlights here and there. They don’t have the yellow, rusty, and other light colors like cedar waxwing.

#5. Vermilion Cardinal

The vermilion cardinal is another bird from our list, which is similar to the cedar waxwing. This species can be found in Venezuela and Colombia. They usually prefer semi-arid scrubland with spiny legumes and cactus area for living.

Vermilion Cardinal Look Like Cedar Waxwing

Characteristics

Vermilion cardinal is an identical red bird with a prominent crest.
The red-colored crest is upward.
Both males and females have long red straight feathers.
It has a heavy gray bill.
The males are almost red with a few black bands on the wings and tail.
The average length of this species is about 19 cm.

Similarities

Between the cedar waxwing and the vermilion cardinal, the crest or crown on their head is the most common. The female body color is kind of similar to our cedar. Apart from these, there is nothing very common between these two.

Differences

You can easily differentiate a male vermilion cardinal from the cedar waxwing. The crest is longer on the vermilion. Cedar waxwing is comparatively larger. The tail is long, and the bill is wider than the cedar waxwing on the vermilion.

Summary

In short, we’ve found that you can easily differentiate a cedar waxwing from other birds except for the bohemian through. As both bohemian and cedar are from the same family, it’s apprehensible.

Still, you can identify them if you look at them carefully. Other than this, the rest are confused because of their crest and their bodies’ greyish or blackish color. Get in touch with us through social media pages: Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.

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5 Birds That Look Like Cedar Waxwing | Birds Advice