| Waxwings | |
|---|---|
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| Bohemian waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Suborder: | Passeri |
| Parvorder: | Muscicapida |
| Superfamily: | Bombycilloidea |
| Family: | Bombycillidae William Swainson, 1831 |
| Genus: | Bombycilla Vieillot, 1808 |
| Type species | |
| Bombycilla cedrorum | |
| Species | |
Thewaxwings are three species ofpasserinebirds classified in thegenusBombycilla. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, a crest, a square-cut tail and pointed wings. Some of the wing feathers have red tips, the resemblance of which tosealing wax gives these birds their common name. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the familyBombycillidae, although sometimes the family is extended to include related taxa that are more usually included in separate families: silky flycatchers (Ptiliogonatidae (e.g.Phainoptila)),Hypocolius (Hypocoliidae),Hylocitrea (Hylocitreidae), palmchats (Dulidae) and the Hawaiian honeyeaters (Mohoidae). There are three species: theBohemian waxwing (B. garrulus), theJapanese waxwing (B. japonica) and thecedar waxwing (B. cedrorum).
Waxwings are not long-distance migrants, but move nomadically outside the breeding season. Waxwings mostly feed on insects in summer and fruit in winter; at times of year when fruit and insects are unavailable, they may also feed on sap, buds, and flowers. They catch insects by gleaning through foliage or in mid-air. They often nest near water, the female building a loose nest at the fork of a branch, well away from the trunk of the tree. She also incubates the eggs, the male bringing her food to the nest, and both sexes help rear the young. Waxwings appear in art and have been mentioned in literature.
The waxwings are the sole genus in the family Bombycillidae.[1][2] In the past, some other related birds were also included in the family, including thesilky-flycatchers (nowPtiliogonatidae), thegrey hypocolius (nowHypocoliidae), thepalm chat (nowDulidae), and thehylocitrea (nowHylocitreidae); these are all now treated, along with theMohoidae, in the superfamilyBombycilloidea.[1]
| Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemian waxwing
| Bombycilla garrulus (Linnaeus, 1758) | northern regions of Eurasia and North America. | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
| Japanese waxwing
| Bombycilla japonica (Siebold, 1824) | Breeding in the Russian Far East and Heilongjiang Province, north-east China, Wintering in Japan, Korea, and eastern China | Size: Habitat: Diet: | NT |
| Cedar waxwing
| Bombycilla cedrorum Vieillot, 1808 | United States, Mexico | Size: Habitat: Diet: | LC |
Bombycilla, the genus name, isVieillot's attempt atLatin for "silktail", translating the German nameSeidenschwänze. Vieillot thought thatmotacilla, Latin forwagtails, was derived frommota for "move" andcilla, which he thought meant "tail"; however,Motacilla actually combinesmotacis, a mover, with thediminutive suffix-illa. He then combined this "cilla" with the Latinbombyx, meaning silk.[3]
Waxwings are characterised by soft silky plumage. They have unique red tips to the secondary feathers of the wing (most obvious in adultBohemian waxwing andcedar waxwing, often absent inJapanese waxwing, and sometimes absent in immatures of the other two), where the shafts extend beyond the barbs; these tips look like sealing wax, and give the group its common name.[3] The legs are short and strong, and the wings are pointed. The male and female have the same plumage. All three species have mainly pale grey-brown plumage, a black line through the eye, and black under the chin, a square-ended tail with a red or yellow tip, and a pointed crest. The bill, eyes, and feet are blackish. The adults moult between August and November, but may suspend their moult and continue after migration.[4] Calls are high-pitched, buzzing or trilling monosyllables.[5][6]
These are arboreal birds that breed in northerntaiga forests.[7] Their main foods are insects, which they eat in spring and summer (and if available, at other times of the year) and fruit, which they eat from early summer (strawberries,mulberries, andserviceberries) through late summer and autumn (raspberries,blackberries,cherries, andhoneysuckle berries) into late autumn and winter (rowan,cotoneaster,viburnum fruit,crabapples,rose hips,dogwood berries,juniper cones,grapes, andmistletoe berries); the juicy berries of rowans are the most important.[8][5][7] They pluck fruit from a perch or occasionally while hovering. In spring they replace fruit with sap, buds, and flowers. In warmer periods of the year they catch many insects bygleaning or byflycatching in midair, and often nest near water where flying insects are abundant.[7]
Waxwings also choose nest sites in places with rich supplies of fruit and breed late in the year to take advantage of summer ripening. However, they may start courting as early as the winter. Pairing includes a ritual in which mates pass a fruit or small inedible object back and forth several times until one eats it (if it is a fruit). After this they may copulate. Many pairs may nest close together in places with good food supplies, and pairs do not defend a territory (perhaps the reason waxwings have no truesong), but a bird may attack intruders, perhaps to guard its mate. Both birds gather nest materials, but the female does most of the construction, usually on a horizontal limb or in a crotch well away from the tree trunk, at any height. She makes a loose, bulky nest of twigs, grass, andlichen, which she lines with fine grass, moss, andpine needles and may camouflage with dangling pieces of grass, flowers, lichen, and moss. The female incubates, fed by the male on the nest, but once the eggs hatch, both birds feed the young.[7]
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They are not true long-distancemigrants, but wander erratically outside the breeding season and move south from their summer range in winter. In years with poor berry crops, huge numbers can irrupt well beyond their normal winter range, often in large flocks of hundreds or occasionally even thousands.[7]
Media related toBombycilla at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toWaxwing at WikispeciesAuthority control databases: National |
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