Birds · Passeriformes · Bombycillidae

Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Bohemian waxwing is a passerine bird of the family Bombycillidae, widely distributed through the cold and temperate forests of the Old World. The plumage is mainly greyish brown, with black markings on the face and a pointed crest. The wings are patterned with bright white and yellow feathers, and the tips of some of those feathers have a waxy reddish appearance. The three subspecies differ only slightly in appearance. Females resemble males, although young birds are less colourful and have few of the waxy red tips on the wings. Although its range overlaps with those of the cedar waxwing and the Japanese waxwing, the Bohemian waxwing is easily told apart from them by differences in size and plumage.

Weight

45 g – 70 g

Size

18 cm – 21 cm

Lifespan

13 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestTundraHerbivore Diurnal In pairs Bird Temperate forest Tundra

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Fun facts

Its winter irruptions are unpredictable: when the rowan berry crop fails in the north, tens of thousands of waxwings come down into western and central Europe, and in those winters they turn up in city gardens where they are not seen for years at a time.
It can actually get drunk: when the berries it eats have started to ferment, it takes in enough alcohol to become disoriented, and its liver is disproportionately large in order to metabolise it.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Conifer and birch taiga for breeding; in winter, anywhere with berries, cities included
Size at birth: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 14 days
Litter / clutch size: 5

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombycilla_garrulus

Where to find it

See its range on the interactive map

Best time: From November to March, and above all in irruption years, when flocks from northern Europe come south in search of rowan and hawthorn berries.