Jan. 10, 2010 - Bohemian Waxwings

There are only three species of waxwings in the world. Two of them (Cedar Waxwing and Bohemian Waxwing) are common in northern Minnesota. (The third species is the Japanese Waxwing.) In northern Minnesota, Cedar Waxwings are usually found only in the summer. Bohemian Waxwings nest in Alaska and western Canada. In winter they form large flocks and wander as far east as New England. That’s the time of year when we see them. This wandering habit is the reason for the word Bohemian in their name.

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The Bohemian Waxwings are searching for fruit-bearing trees. They especially like mountain ash berries. Some cities in Canada with lots of mountain ash trees might see thousands of Bohemian Waxwings each year. Waxwings also like crab apples and that’s what they were feeding on when I saw a flock of about 100 birds in the town of Bovey, MN. My friend Shawn, who lives in Bovey, saw a flock that he estimated at 400 birds.

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This bird finally succeeded in pulling a crab apple off the tree.

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These crab apples were just the right size for the birds to swallow them whole.

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This photo gives you a good view of the red and yellow tips of the wing feathers. They look like drops of wax; hence, the name Waxwing. Also note the yellow tips of the tail feathers. You can see the orange undertail feathers (called undertail coverts) which are a good field mark for this species.

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