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Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Waxwings (Bombycillidae)

Bohemian Waxwing Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Bohemian Waxwing: Large waxwing with gray upperparts, pink-gray crest, black mask and chin, and gray underparts. Wings are black with sharp yellow or white line and red spots on primaries (visible when folded). Tail is dark and yellow-tipped with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is duller with white throat, streaked underparts, and reduced crest.

Range and Habitat

Bohemian Waxwing: Widespread throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; preferred habitats include open woodlands.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"scree", "zirrrr"

Interesting Facts

  • Bohemian Waxwings are susceptible to intoxication and even death due to eating fermented berries.
  • In the common name, Bohemian refers to their nomadic life style in search of fruit and berries; Waxwing, refers to the bright red bead-like tips of the secondary feathers on its wings, which look like drops of sealing wax.
  • The genus name, Bombycilla, comes from the Latin Bombyx (silk) and cilla (tail) and refers to the silky-soft plumage of the bird, The species name garrulus means 'noisy' or 'quarrelsome.'
  • A group of waxwings are collectively known as an "ear-full" and a "museum" of waxwings.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Bohemian Waxwing
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Bombycilla garrulus
Length6.25 - 8.25 Inches
Wingspan13.5 Inches

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing: Large waxwing with gray upperparts, pink-gray crest, black mask and chin, and gray underparts. The wings are black with a sharp yellow or white line and red spots on primaries (visible when folded). Tail is dark and yellow-tipped with cinnamon-brown undertail coverts.

● Song: "scree", "zirrrr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Bohemian Waxwing: Eats mostly fruits and insects, especially insect pests; also drinks sap. Often forages close to other birds on the ground and in trees.

● Breeding & nesting: Bohemian Waxwing: Two to six pale blue gray eggs, marked with black at larger end, are laid in a nest made of sticks, lichens, stems, and grass, lined with mosses and fine plant materials, and built far out on a horizontal limb, from 4 to 50 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 14 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Bohemian Waxwing: Cedar Waxwing is smaller and browner, has white undertail coverts, and lacks black, yellow, and white on wings.

Flight Pattern

Strong rapid flight with a series of rapid wing beats alternating with wings pulled briefly to sides.
Bohemian Waxing Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Bohemian Waxwing: Widespread throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; preferred habitats include open woodlands.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
PopulationFairly common to uncommon, Widespread in range in winter.
MigrationMigratory
Weight2 Ounces