Bohemian Waxwing

The Bohemian Waxwing is a sleek, crested songbird named for its smooth, silky, grayish-brown plumage and its nomadic, wandering ("bohemian") habits during the non-breeding season. Adults show a soft gray body, a rich cinnamon face and crest, black mask and throat, chestnut undertail coverts, and striking yellow-tipped tail feathers, with waxy red tips on the secondary wing feathers that give the waxwing family its name. It is larger and grayer overall than the more familiar Cedar Waxwing, with bolder white and yellow wing markings.

Breeding in the far northern boreal forests of North America and Eurasia, Bohemian Waxwings become highly nomadic outside the breeding season, forming large, tight flocks that move unpredictably in search of berry crops, sometimes irrupting far south of their typical winter range in years when northern berry supplies are poor.

Key Field Marks

• Sleek crest, overall soft gray body, cinnamon face, black mask and chin
• Chestnut (rufous) undertail coverts, distinguishing it from the white undertail coverts of Cedar Waxwing
• Bold white and yellow markings on the wing (primaries), plus red waxy tips on secondary feathers
• Yellow-tipped tail
• Larger and grayer overall than Cedar Waxwing

Similar Species

• Cedar Waxwing is smaller, browner (less gray), has white (not chestnut) undertail coverts, and shows less bold white/yellow wing patterning.
• Both species travel in tight, cohesive flocks and can occur together at fruiting trees in winter in the northern United States and Canada.

Habitat

Breeds in open boreal coniferous and mixed forest, especially near forest edges, clearings, and burns. In winter, found wherever fruiting trees and shrubs are abundant, including parks, hedgerows, and ornamental plantings.

Range

Breeds across the northern boreal regions of Alaska, Canada, and Eurasia (a circumpolar distribution). Winters irregularly across southern Canada and the northern United States, with occasional larger irruptions farther south.

Migration

Highly nomadic and irruptive rather than following a fixed migratory pattern; winter movements and abundance vary greatly from year to year depending on the size of wild berry crops in the north.

Behavior

Bohemian Waxwings are intensely social, traveling and foraging in large, tightly coordinated flocks that move together from tree to tree, sometimes stripping a fruiting tree bare within minutes before moving on.

Voice

The call is a high, buzzy, trilled note, similar to but lower and harsher than the thin, high-pitched call of the Cedar Waxwing; the species has no true song.

Feeding

Feeds heavily on berries and small fruits in fall and winter, including mountain ash, juniper, and crabapple, sometimes becoming intoxicated on overripe, fermented fruit; switches to catching flying insects during the breeding season.

Nesting & Breeding

Builds a bulky cup nest of twigs, moss, and lichen, typically placed in a conifer. The female incubates 4-6 eggs, and pairs often nest loosely near other Bohemian Waxwing pairs.