Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFruitForestCup nestSmall · 54 g

What the Bohemian Waxwing sounds like

Sonogram of the Bohemian Waxwing: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Doug Hynes · Song · Sandringham, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Bohemian Waxwing: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Justin Watts · Call, song · Lakewood Township (near Duluth), St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Bohemian Waxwing: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Bushman · Flight call · Moscow, gorod Moskva, Moscow, Russian Federation · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The Bohemian waxwing is a starling-sized bird 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) in length with a 32–35.5 cm (12.6–14.0 in) wingspan, and an average weight of 55 g (1.9 oz). It is short-tailed, mainly brownish-grey, and has a conspicuous crest on its head. The male of the nominate subspecies has a black mask through the eye and a black throat. There is a white streak behind the bill and a white curve below the eye. The lower belly is a rich chestnut colour and there are cinnamon-coloured areas around the mask. The rump is grey and the tail ends in a bright yellow band with a broad black border above it.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Bohemian Waxwing

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 7 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is January, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Bohemian Waxwing

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 51 countries with regular records, and 7 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Portugal, Luxembourg, North Korea, Moldova, India, Turkmenistan, Greece.

About the Bohemian Waxwing

The Bohemian waxwing is a starling-sized passerine bird that breeds in the northern forests of the Palearctic and North America. It has mainly buff-grey plumage, black face markings and a pointed crest. Its wings are patterned with white and bright yellow, and some of the wing feathers have red tips, the resemblance of which to sealing wax gives these birds their common name. The two or three subspecies show only minor differences in appearance. Females are similar to males, although young birds are less well-marked and have few or no waxy wingtips.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Bohemian Waxwing vs Cedar Waxwing · Bohemian Waxwing vs Japanese Waxwing

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