Field Guide
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Waxwing
Bombycilla garrulus
Not yet photographed by the community
Irruptive winter visitor with waxy red wing tips.
Species Profile
Amber List (in UK; breeding population not present)
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 18–22 cm, wingspan 32–35 cm; 50–70 g
- Habitat
- Open woodlands, parks, and gardens with berry-bearing trees and shrubs, particularly rowan, hawthorn, and juniper.
- UK Distribution
- Irregular winter visitor to the UK, arriving from Scandinavia and northern Europe in variable numbers (irruptions). Most common in Scotland, northern England, and eastern regions; rare in southern England and Wales.
- Diet
- Primarily berries and small fruits, including rowan, hawthorn, juniper, and mistletoe; supplements diet with insects and buds in spring.
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, peregrines, and other raptors; eggs and chicks vulnerable to crows and jays in breeding areas.
- Mating Season
- May to August (in Scandinavian breeding grounds)
- Breeding
- Clutch of 4–6 eggs; incubation period 14–15 days; single or occasionally double broods; does not breed in the UK.
- Behaviour
- Highly gregarious and acrobatic, often seen in noisy flocks of 20–50+ birds feeding on berry trees. Known for wandering behaviour in response to berry crop availability, making their presence unpredictable.
- •Waxwings are named for the distinctive waxy red tips on their secondary wing feathers, whose purpose remains partly mysterious.
- •They can digest fruit faster than almost any other bird, with berries passing through their digestive system in under an hour.
- •Large UK irruptions occur when Scandinavian berry crops fail, forcing birds to migrate westward in search of food.
- •The species is sexually dimorphic; males have larger red wing tips and longer tail feathers than females.
- •Waxwings often become so intoxicated from fermenting berries that they can barely fly, occasionally causing cluster fatalities when they collide with vehicles or windows.
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