Bombycilla garrulus
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)
Featured photobohemian-waxwing.jpgBombycilla garrulus, the Bohemian waxwing, is a medium-sized songbird of the family Bombycillidae, distributed across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Adults are 19 to 23 cm long with a wingspan of 32 to 35.5 cm and weigh 50 to 70 g. The plumage shows silky cinnamon-buff body, a black face mask, a jaunty crest, and bright red wax-like secondary tips. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern. The species is famous for irruptive winter movements that bring large flocks south in years when boreal-forest fruit crops fail.
Quick facts
- Habitat
- Boreal coniferous and mixed forest during the breeding season; almost any habitat with fruit-bearing trees and shrubs in winter — gardens, orchards, parks, suburban streets.
- Range
- Holarctic boreal zone — across Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia. Winter range extends south irregularly to the central United States, central Europe, central China, and Japan in irruption years.
- Size
- 19–23 cm body · 32–35.5 cm wingspan · 50–70 g
- Plumage
- Adults show a silky cinnamon-buff body, a sharp black face mask, a pointed crest, a yellow band at the tip of the grey tail, and the diagnostic bright red waxy tips on the secondary feathers. Underwing primaries show bright yellow-and-white markings visible in flight. The plumage is similar to the smaller cedar waxwing but the Bohemian shows chestnut undertail-coverts (white in the cedar) and distinctive yellow-and-white wing markings. Both sexes look alike.
- Song
- A high-pitched, lisping, trilling 'tsree-tsree-tsree' delivered by flying flocks. The sound carries far on still winter air and is one of the most characteristic sounds of irruptive winter waxwing flocks.
- Migration
- Highly nomadic and irruptive. In peak years, large flocks move south from the boreal breeding range to lower latitudes; in non-irruption years, most birds remain on the breeding range. Movements track fruit-crop availability rather than calendar dates.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (LC)
Overview
Bombycilla garrulus is one of three Bombycilla waxwing species worldwide (with the smaller cedar waxwing B. cedrorum and the rare Japanese waxwing B. japonica). The species' English name 'Bohemian' is unrelated to the central European country and instead means 'wandering' or 'gypsy' — a reference to the species' irruptive nomadic movements. The Latin epithet 'garrulus' means 'chattering', a reference to the high-pitched flock calls.
Irruptive movements
Bohemian waxwing populations show some of the most dramatic irruptive movements among Northern Hemisphere songbirds. In years when boreal-forest fruit crops fail, large flocks of dozens to thousands of birds move south to lower latitudes — sometimes reaching the central United States, central Europe, or central China. The 2008-09 and 2012-13 winters were major Bohemian waxwing irruption years across both Britain and the eastern United States, with reports of large flocks at urban fruit-bearing trees. Irruption years are unpredictable and driven by post-breeding fruit availability rather than winter cold.
Wax tips and intoxication
Like the closely related cedar waxwing, Bohemian waxwings carry bright red waxy tips on the secondary feathers — flattened keratinous extensions of the feather shaft pigmented with carotenoid astaxanthin. The number and intensity of tips correlates with age and condition. Bohemian waxwings also occasionally fall victim to mass intoxication on fermented overripe winter fruit; flocks consuming fermented mountain ash or hawthorn can show clear ataxia, fly into windows, and occasionally die. Mass cedar-and-Bohemian-waxwing intoxication events are documented annually somewhere in the species' winter range.
Sources & further reading (2)
- iucn-red-list — accessed 2026-04-30
- encyclopedia — accessed 2026-04-30
Frequently asked questions
What is a waxwing 'irruption'?
An irruption is a year in which large numbers of waxwings move much further south than typical, sometimes reaching central or southern US states, central Europe, or central China. Irruption years usually follow a fruit-crop failure on the boreal breeding range — the surplus birds move south in search of food. Irruption years are unpredictable and may bring flocks of dozens to thousands of waxwings to urban fruit-bearing trees in regions where the species is normally rare.
Why is it called a 'Bohemian' waxwing?
The English name 'Bohemian' is unrelated to the central European country (Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic). Instead it means 'wandering' or 'gypsy' — a reference to the species' irruptive nomadic movements that bring large flocks unpredictably south in some winters. The Latin epithet 'garrulus' means 'chattering', a reference to the high-pitched flock calls. Both names reflect the species' nomadic and noisy behaviour.
How do Bohemian and cedar waxwings differ?
Bohemian waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) are larger and more boldly patterned than the cedar waxwing — chestnut undertail-coverts (white in cedar), distinctive yellow-and-white wing markings, and a stockier overall shape. Bohemian waxwings breed in the boreal forest of the Northern Hemisphere; cedar waxwings breed across most of forested North America. The two species occasionally winter in mixed flocks across the northern United States during Bohemian irruption years.
