Frosts got waxwings moving
Photos: Arne Ader
NAture sound: Veljo Runnel, www.loodusheli.ee
Translation: Liis
Waxwing
Listen to the waxwing:
Boehmian waxwing; waxwing Siidisaba or viristaja Bombycilla garrulus
The frosty weather has set the roaming flocks of waxwings moving. It is not a good year for berries, and so we will not see “thousand-headed“ bird flocks in December. Since a couple of months there are no rowanberries on the trees, and it was a poor year for rowanberries anyway. Thrushes have emptied the hawthorn trees as well as chokeberry bushes (Aronia sp.); luckily there are still apples in the trees.
The flight image of waxwings with their triangular wings is very similar to that of starlings. Let us look at the exterior of the beautiful tundra birds: the base colour of the silky and glossy plumage is silk grey and reddish brown. A black streak at the eyes and a similarly coloured patch under the chin. All have a proud head crest. The beak is strong, the tip a little crooked. Wing plumage black, with yellow and white patches. The tips of the primaries yellow as the tip of the tail.
Differences between young birds and adults: juveniles lack the black patch at the throat, and the silky sheen is duller. Seen with binoculars the difference is clearly noticeable.
Waxwing observations: LINK
Waxwings in maple top
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