What kind of bird is about the size of a Cardinal and has yellow gold body with a tufted head and a small band of black around its eyes?

I believe that you are talking about the waxwing. There is the Bohemian Waxwing which is grayish brown and the larger waxwing. The Cedar Waxwing is smaller than a robin and more of a brown tint than the Bohemian Waxwing. They both have the black eye band, or mask, and they have a yellow band on the tip of the tail.