Bohemian Waxwings, a gift from the forest says Geoff Holroyd
Bohemian Waxwings nest in the boreal forests of northern Alberta east to Newfoundland and Labrador and west to Alaska, says Geoff Holroyd, Beaverhill Bird Observatory Chair.
“We can only see their beauty in the summer if we travel north. But in winter they brighten our towns and cities with their creamy brown colour speckled with red and yellow on their wings and tail.”
Why are Bohemian Waxwings called that?
“Bohemian means socially unconventional in an artistic way, and these birds are both beautiful and unconventional in the winter, moving in large flocks, sometimes thousands in a single group. At the ends of each wing feather is a yellow tab that looks like a dot of wax delicately deposited by a painter brush, hence their name.”
While a smaller species, . . . contd.
