The Bohemian Waxwing is a beautiful songbird with a prominent crest. These sleek grey birds live in pine forests across northern North America, as well as northern parts of Eurasia. It is one of three waxwing species found in the world. The others are the Cedar Waxwing and the Japanese Waxwing.
Bohemian Waxwings are mostly brown in plumage, with a gray-brown belly which helps to distinguish it from the Cedar Waxwing. They have a dark mask around the eyes and are named for the wax-like red tips found on some of their wing feathers.
Bohemian Waxwings breed in coniferous forests and move about outside of the breeding season depending on the availability of food. Their erratic seasonal movements mean they may be seen outside of their normal range in the winter months, to the delight of birders.
The Bohemian Waxwing is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2014 by BirdLife International. This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Bohemian Waxwings are on the move this winter! A poor berry crop in their northern range may be driving them outside of their usual winter haunts. Flocks have been seen around southern Lake Michigan and individuals have been reported in many northeastern states in the U.S. The... Read more »
