Immature Bohemian waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus, photographed in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
Image: T. Cornulier, 31 October 2010.
Canon 5D + 100-400 f5.6
Question: There are so many special characteristics that this bird and its sister species share that it is difficult to choose just one to ask you about. So instead, I will ask you to tell us which of this bird's characteristics are your favorites -- and is this species a favorite of yours, as it is for me?
Response: This is an immature Bohemian waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus, as you can see from the straight white/yellow patches at the tip of the primaries -- in adults these would be hook-shaped. This lovely bird and its close relatives, the cedar waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum, and the Japanese waxwing, Bombycilla japonica, are collectively known as "waxwings" because of the bright red waxy tips on the feathers of birds (yes, contrary to what I've learned and seen, immature birds can have waxy tips, too). The function of these red feather tips are not known.
The Bohemian waxwing was so named because it wanders widely in pursuit of food sources (these birds primarily consume fruits and berries, although they also eat insects, which they often catch on the wing). This species has a circumpolar distribution. They also are very social birds and often suddenly show up in large flocks numbering dozens to thousands. One particularly fascinating behavior occurs when a male is courting a female: he passes her a berry which she returns to him, uneaten. The birds will pass this berry back and forth for long periods of time, presumably to strengthen their pair bond.
One winter, when I was a child, I witnessed this curious behavior among a flock of these birds. Several dozen of these beautiful birds had perched on a wood fence outside my bedroom window and were busily passing a bright red pyracantha berry from one bird to the next, down the line, until one bird accidentally dropped it into a 3-foot snowdrift below. Watching this fascinating behavior and wondering about its purpose was instrumental in my developing passion for birds.
Embedded below is a 2 minute radio programme about the Bohemian waxwing, thanks to my friends at BirdNote Radio:
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.