Bohemian Waxwing
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae Genus: Bombycilla Species: garruluus
Binomial name
Bombycilla garrulus

The Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) is a member of the waxwing family of passerines. It breeds in coniferous forests throughout the most northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America. The nest is usually high in a pine tree.

Like other waxwings, it eats insects in the breeding season and berries in winter. This species is eruptive, moving south in huge numbers if the berry supply fails in winter.

Its flight is strong and direct, and in flight it looks like a pale starling.

The call is a pleasant ringing sound.

Its English name refers to the red blobs on its wings, which look like sealing wax, while 'Bohemian' refers to its (presumed) origin from Bohemia (at the time, a relatively unknown but "distant, eastern" place).

The generic name Bombycilla, from Latin Bombyx (silk / silk moth) + cilla (tail), is a direct translation of the Danish name 'Silkehale', silk-tail, and refers to the silky-soft plumage of the bird; the species name garrulus means 'noisy' or 'quarrelsome'.