Investigating the Demography and Parasites of Spring-Migrating Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla Cedrorum) in Virginia After a Single-Day Mortality Event

While investigating the cause of death in a cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) mortality event in March 2024 in Roanoke, Virginia, we collected parasites, investigated gizzard contents, and described demography. The group of 20 was slightly male-dominated (12/20) and only contained two adults (after second year - both females). We recovered 46 ectoparasites from 16 of 20 individuals and reported two species of feather mites (Proctophyllodes ampelidis [N=37] and Analges integer [N=5]), one oribatid mite, two spider mites (order Trombidiformes), and one unknown mite (likely immature oribatid). We recovered no endoparasites. This mortality event provided a sample size that would otherwise be difficult to capture or collect and provided baseline natural history data for a common migratory species.