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Bohemian Waxwing Identification


Bohemian Waxwing Identification
Bohemian Waxwing Identification


True to its name, the Bohemian waxwing wanders as roving bands across the northern United States and Canada in search of fruit during the non-breeding season. High-pitched tremors emanate from the sky as large flocks descend on fruit trees and shrubs at unpredictable times and places. These royal birds have a peachy, prickly red crest on their faces. Unlike the familiar cedar waxwing, it has rusty feathers under its tail and white markings on its wings.

Backyard Tips

The nomadic nature of the Northern Waxwing makes it difficult to predict if and when it will appear in your garden. But they are fruit experts, so planting a native tree or shrub that fruits well in late autumn and winter can appeal to anyone passing through your area. Learn more about creating bird-friendly yards on the Habitat Network. They can eat the fruit and occasionally visit the feeding stations. Learn more about what this bird likes to eat and which feeder is best with the Project FeederWatch Common Feeder Birds tool.

important events

Waxwings Bohemian Movers. A piece of waxwing shaved by researchers in British Columbia 13 months later was recovered in South Dakota. Another person travelled 280 miles in 11 days.

Waxwings, unlike many songbirds, do not have a breeding ground nor do they have a true song. Bohemian waxwings make high-pitched calls as they walk in large groups in search of fruit.

There are only three species of waxwing in the world, the Bohemian Waxwing from North America and Eurasia, the Cedar Waxwing from North America and the Japanese Waxwing from East Asia.

Bohemian Wax Wings have an incredible ability to find fruit almost anywhere, as if they had a GPS tracker for berries. Sometimes flocks appear in desert areas, finding a single shrub, which eats its fruit within minutes and moves on.

Waxwings have red wax heads on some of their wing feathers and yellow tips on their tails. The colour comes from carotenoid pigments found in the fruit that the waxwing eats. As the birds age, the waxy limbs grow larger.

The oldest recorded Bohemian waxwing ghost was at least 5 years and 10 months old. The researchers collected the person in 1968 in Saskatchewan and recovered the same person in 1973.


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