Suspected ethanol toxicosis in two wild cedar waxwings.

Several wild cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) fell from a rooftop following ingestion of overwintered hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) pommes. At necropsy, there was pericardial hemorrhage, although no microscopic abnormalities were found. Ethanol was present in crop contents (380 ppm) and in the livers (238 and 989 ppm). The cause of death was attributed to hemorrhage following a fall precipitated by ethanol intoxication.