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Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus Order PASSERIFORMES - Family BOMBYCILLIDAE
Summary Detailed
For complete Life History Information on this species, visit Birds of North America Online.

Bohemian Waxwing
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Bohemian Waxwing
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  1. Description
  2. Sound
  3. Conservation Status
  4. Other Names
  5. Cool Facts
  6. Full detailed species account

The Bohemian Waxwing is an irregular winter visitor from the far North. It comes primarily to states and provinces along the United States/Canada border, a bit farther southward in the West.

Description

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  • Medium-sized songbird.
  • Brownish gray overall.
  • Crest on top of head.
  • Black mask.
  • Yellow tip to tail.
  • White and yellow feather edging in wings.
  • Reddish under the tail.

  • Size: 16-19 cm (6-7 in)
  • Wingspan: 33 cm (13 in)
  • Weight: 45-69 g (1.59-2.44 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female with smaller black chin patch and fewer, shorter waxy tips on feathers.

Sound

Call a high-pitched trill, rougher and lower pitched than that of Cedar Waxwing.

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Conservation Status

Populations stable or increasing.

Other Names

Jaseur boréal, Jaseur de Boheme (French)
Ampelis europeo (Spanish)

Cool Facts

  • The name "Bohemian" refers to the nomadic movements of winter flocks. It comes from the inhabitants of Bohemia, meaning those that live an unconventional lifestyle or like that of gypsies.

  • The Bohemian Waxwing does not hold breeding territories, probably because the fruits it eats are abundant, but available only for short periods. One consequence of this non-territorial lifestyle is that it has no true song. It does not need one to defend a territory.

  • Only three species of waxwings exist. The Bohemian and Japanese waxwings have white edges to the wing feathers, but the Cedar Waxwing does not. An unusual Cedar Waxwing was found with the ornate wing pattern, suggesting that the ancestor of all three species had a patterned wing.

Sources used to construct this page:

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Witmer, M. 2002. Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus). In The Birds of North America, No. 714 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

For more information about this species, visit Bird of the Week.

 
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