But this suggests that the chicks got the pigment from foods provided by the parents while the young were still in the nest and forming feathers. If an adult bird were to ingest large amounts of this pigment, it would not affect existing feathers. The exception is right after the molt, when they've shed old feathers and begin to grow new ones. Unfortunately, scientists don't know what happens to the orange band when the young birds molt. While many groups across the country capture and band wild birds for study, there has yet to be a report of a cedar waxwing with an orange stripe being recaptured later.
Cedar waxwings are unpredictable migrants.
They don't have set migration routes. One born in Connecticut could go anywhere. They are very opportunistic, and they're capable of exploiting a new food source, which tells you something about the adaptability of this species. On the other hand, it has long been known that the color of some birds in captivity can be altered by what they eat. Frank Purdue's chickens have yellower skin than others.