The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus Bombycilla. 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 to sealing wax gives these birds their common name. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae, 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: the Bohemian waxwing (B. garrulus), the Japanese waxwing (B. japonica) and the cedar 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.
Taxonomy
The waxwings are the sole genus in the family Bombycillidae. In the past, some other related birds were also included in the family, including the silky-flycatchers (now Ptiliogonatidae), the grey hypocolius (now Hypocoliidae), the palm chat (now Dulidae), and the hylocitrea (now Hylocitreidae); these are all now treated, along with the Mohoidae, in the superfamily Bombycilloidea. 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. Calls are high-pitched, buzzing or trilling monosyllables.
Behaviour
Diet
These are arboreal birds that breed in northern taiga forests. 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, and serviceberries) through late summer and autumn (raspberries, blackberries, cherries, and honeysuckle berries) into late autumn and winter (rowan, cotoneaster, viburnum fruit, crabapples, rose hips, dogwood berries, juniper cones, grapes, and mistletoe berries); the juicy berries of rowans are the most important.