Cedar waxwings eating 17 year cicada

Found this old Nikon D1X file in my archives last night and thought people would enjoy seeing this unusual behavior from the Waxwings. In the image is a cedar waxwing eating a cicada also known as the 17-year cicada. The tree was full of waxwings and they where all feasting on the bugs. This happened back in 2002 when the cicada emerged from their long sleep. It was strange to me because I always think of them as a fruit, nut, and seed only kind of bird.

A wild shot which also shows off the "wax wing tips" quite well. Thanks for sharing.

Great shot, I remember this. My butternut tree was full of Waxwings, and every time a cicada would try to cross the yard, they would fly out and snap it up.

Cool, Douglas. I remember a few years ago when we had an irruption of tent caterpillars, I saw a lot of Waxwings around. I wondered at the time if they were eating them, but wasn't into bird photography at the time.