Bohemian Waxwings Dining On Bald-faced Hornet Larvae
We think of Bohemian Waxwings, colorful winter visitors, as primarily consumers of sugary fruits, but their diet is not exclusively frugivorous. They (and Cedar Waxwings) eat sap drips in the spring and aerial insects, especially emergent aquatic species, in the summer.
During the winter, in addition to fruits, Bohemian Waxwings also feed on protein-rich foods when they are available. Pictured is one of many Bohemian Waxwings that found a goldmine of protein — dead Bald-faced Hornet larvae. While the hornet queen overwinters under loose bark or a similarly protected area, the larvae that are developing within the nest when a hard frost hits are killed. Bohemian Waxwings apparently recognize this rich source of protein. Scale insects and tree buds (American Elm and ash species) are also consumed in the winter and spring. (Photograph by Terry Marron)
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Bohemian Waxwings Bulking Up For Migration North
Named for the nomadic ranging patterns of their large winter flocks, Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) are winter visitors in northern New England, where flocks can be seen eating the sugary fruits of mountain ash, serviceberry and crab apples, among others. Very soon they will return to their breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Alaska and western Canada.
Adults and some juveniles of Bohemian (and Cedar) Waxwings have variable numbers of red, wax-like nubs on the tips of their secondary feathers. Research shows that these nubs are important in the social hierarchy of a flock. They, and other plumage characters (brightness of yellow tail band and wing-stripe), increase in number and/or prominence with age. The red and yellow carotenoid pigments of waxwing plumage are derived exclusively from dietary sources.
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Bohemian Waxwings Headed Northwest To Breeding Grounds
Northern New England and, to a lesser extent, southern New England, are visited by Bohemian Waxwings most winters. This nomadic bird often occurs in large single-species flocks, but sometimes mixes with Cedar Waxwings and/or American Robins. These flocks, varying in size from a few individuals to several hundred, and even a few thousand, range widely during migration and winter. Their dietary preference in the winter for sugary fruits makes crab apple and mountain ash trees (and the ground underneath them) as well as highbush cranberry bushes likely locations to spot them.
Most Bohemian Waxwings begin their migration to their breeding grounds in Alaska and the boreal forests of western Canada in March. Like its close relative, the Cedar Waxwing, it breeds late compared to most birds. Eggs are not laid until mid-June, presumedly in order to time the fledging of their young with the ripening fruits of summer.
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Winter Finch Forecast: Finch Irruption This Winter
Things are looking up for those of us who look forward to winters when boreal finches come south in relatively large numbers in search of food. This is an irruption year for winter finches in the East due to the poor cone and birch seed production in northern Ontario and Quebec. Seed-eating birds such as finches, grosbeaks, redpolls and siskins will be frequenting our feeders.
Even at this early date, Evening Grosbeak sightings are up noticeably. Pine Grosbeaks will be taking advantage of good Mountain-ash berry and cone production in New England. Purple Finch numbers should also be healthy this winter. While Red Crossbills sightings may be scarce, White-winged Crossbills sightings may well be up due to the poor cone crops in the eastern boreal forest. Both Common and Hoary Redpolls should be numerous this winter due to poor crops of birch, alder and conifer seeds further north.
In addition to these finches, large numbers of Blue Jays, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Bohemian Waxwings are predicted due to poor nut, conifer seed and berry crops, respectively, further north. (Ron Pittaway’s Winter Finch Forecast, 2018-2019, http://jeaniron.ca/2018/wff18.htm ) (Photo: Common Redpoll)
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Cedar vs. Bohemian Waxwings
Worldwide there are three species of waxwings: Cedar, Bohemian and Japanese. The first two species occur in North America, and while they share many traits, they also have their differences. Both species look somewhat alike, in that they both have crests and black eye masks. Both species also form nomadic, social flocks that are constantly in search of sugary fruit. However, there are distinct differences in their distribution, size and plumage.
RANGE: If you’re in the Northeast, and it’s summer, the waxwing you’re looking at almost assuredly is a Cedar Waxwing, as they are permanent residents, breeding and overwintering here. Bohemian Waxwings breed in northwest Canada and Alaska, and are only seen in the Northeast in the late fall, winter, or early spring, when they extend their range in search of fruit. Often they will join flocks of cedar waxwings as they feed. They are an irruptive species, irregularly appearing south of their normal winter range in large numbers.
SIZE: Even though Bohemian Waxwings are only about an inch longer than Cedar Waxwings, they are nearly double their weight – Bohemians are chunky, Cedars are svelte.
PLUMAGE: Both of these species have a black eye mask, a yellow (or occasionally orange, due to diet) tail band and frequently red wax at the tip of some of their feathers. The easiest way to distinguish Cedar from Bohemian Waxwings is to look at the color of their undertail feathers (coverts). Bohemians’ are rust-colored and Cedars’ are white. Bohemian Waxwings have a gray chest and belly, while Cedars have a brownish chest and yellow belly.
At this time of year you can find both species gorging on crab apples, often side by side, though Bohemians are soon to depart for the Northwest.
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Waxwings Supplementing Sugary Fruit Diet With High-Protein Insects
The diet of both Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings is primarily sugary fruits throughout most of year. Research shows that they can subsist on this diet exclusively for as many as 18 days. However, in winter when feeding on fruits, they also feed on buds and available insects. In warmer months, waxwings will fly out over water from exposed perches, much like flycatchers, and snatch emerging aquatic insects such as mosquitoes, midges, mayflies, caddisflies and dragonflies out of the air. They also glean for vegetation-borne insect prey, such as scale insects. At this time of year they are taking advantage of winter stonefly hatches over open streams. (photos: bohemian waxwing & stonefly)
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Bohemian Waxwings
Bohemian waxwings breed in Alaska and northwest Canada, but are known for their tendency to move south in the winter when their winter diet of fruit becomes scarce. These irruptions can occur in huge numbers – thousands of birds, in some cases. Their name reflects their nomadic tendency (much like gypsies, or bohemians) and their unpredictable migration patterns. Mountain ash, juniper, cedar and holly berries are among their favorite foods, and typically they will stay in an area with an abundant food source until that food is stripped before moving on. Like their relatives, cedar waxwings, with whom they often flock, they are susceptible to alcohol intoxication, and even death, from eating fermented fruit. Someone I know who was unaware of this phenomenon was alarmed when she observed a number of waxwings lying on the ground outside her house, looking for all the world as if they were dead. To her great relief (and disbelief), an hour or two later the ground was bare, the inebriated birds having sobered up and departed.
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