Bohemian Waxwing
| Class: Aves: Birds |
Diet: Fruit |
| Order:
Passeriformes: Perching birds |
| Size: 18
cm (7 in) |
| Family: Bombycillidae:
Waxwings |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Bombycilla garrulus |
Habitat: tall coniferous
forest of the taiga |
| Range:
Circumpolar regions of North America, Europe and Asia |
 The
name "waxwing" is derived from the drop-shaped and waxlike tips of the
secondary wing feathers that are, in fact, elongations of the feathers'
shafts. The sexes look much alike, except that the female's plumage is
duller. Waxwings normally live on fruit and berries, although they will
catch insects on the wing during the breeding season. In winter they sometimes
migrate south of their range. During his courtship display, the male
presents the female with a berry or ant pupa, which the birds then pass
back and forth from beak to beak but never swallow. The bulky nest is made
from twigs, moss and plant fibers, mainly by the female, who lays 3 to
7 eggs, which she alone incubates.
  
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