most waxwings aren’t really distance migrators, and spend the cold months bopping around the forested areas of north america hunting for the previous fall’s fruit! when they find a tree that still has some fruit on it, the entire flock hunkers down and eats as much as they can possibly hold before they move on in search of the next bounty, which may be some distance away.

unfortunately for them but hilariously for us, sometimes the old fruit that the waxwings find has started to ferment, so the gorging waxwings accidentally get themselves completely hammered. 

remember kids, always have a designated flyer! and probably just don’t eat old fruit.

this isn’t super harmful for them but does mean that it’s basically open waxwing season for any hungry predator in the area since drunk birds can’t fly, so it’s definitely not something they do on purpose.

once the effect wears off, the waxwings gather themselves up and stagger off into the sky to nurse their tiny adorable hangovers forthwith.