The Bohemian waxwing is a stocky bird with a distinct pattern on its wings. The tips of the feathers look as though they have been dipped in sealing wax which gives the species its name. Bohemian refers to its nomadic lifestyle in search of fruit and berries. They are found across the north of the northern hemisphere and visit the UK when food is scarce on their usual wintering grounds, often arriving in their thousands in a short space of time.
Wintering birds: 11,000
Family: Waxwings
Male Bohemian waxwings have pinkish grey-brown plumage, with a paler grey rump and underparts, and rufous undertail coverts.
The flight feathers are black with yellow on the outer webs and narrow white edges on the inner webs, which form a yellow stripe and white fishhook pattern on the closed wings. The primary and secondary coverts have white tips, while the secondaries also have long, red, wax-like red tips. The tail is black with a bright yellow terminal band.
The head, crown and crest are cinnamon coloured and they have a black eye mask that extends to the rear of the head, a small white streak below the eye, and another white streak below the gape. The chin and throat are black. The bill is black with a pale base, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs and feet are dark grey.
Female waxwings are very similar to males, except the yellow tail band is narrower, the black on the throat is less well defined, and the red tips on the wing are shorter.
Juveniles are duller than adults, they have a shorter crest, less conspicuous wing pattern and no black patch on the throat. The underparts have brown streaks.
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Waxwings breed between May and late July and produce 1 clutch per season. They are monogamous and usually nest in solitary pairs although may form small groups if an area has a number of good nest sites. Unlike many songbirds, they do not defend their territories and may not return to the same nest site each year.
They nest in coniferous woodlands usually near open water. Both male and female build the nest on a branch close to the trunk of a tree. It is an open cup-shaped structure made from twigs, sticks, lichen, stems, and grasses, and lined with softer materials such as moss, plant fibres, feathers, and fur.
Waxwings lay 3-6 smooth, glossy, pale blue eggs with black and grey speckles which are incubated by the female alone for about 14 days. During this time, she is fed by the male. Both parents feed the chicks which fledge at 15-17 days after hatching. They reach sexual maturity at 1 year.
During breeding season, waxwings eat mainly insects in particular midges and mosquitos as well as spiders, snails, buds, mosses, lichens, and fruit. In winter they eat berries from rowan, hawthorn, and coneaster trees, brambles, and rosehips. They also drink sap.
Migrant waxwings arrive from Scandinavia between October and March. They tend to arrive en masse in search of food in a type of migration called an irruption. They can first be spotted on the east coast before moving further inland.
Waxwings can eat up to 1,000 berries a day which is the equivalent of over twice their body weight, and can strip a tree bare of its fruit in a matter of hours.
