Bohemian Waxwing
(Bombycilla garrulus)

Overview

Summary

© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Bohemian Waxwing breeds across the boreal forests of western Canada. It is best monitored by the Christmas Bird Count, the results of which suggest little overall change in numbers since the early 1970s. However, the reliability of this assessment is considered low because of poor precision in the results. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

Conservation and management

Bohemian Waxwings are strongly attracted to fruiting shrubs and trees in city parks and gardens during the winter. The species' attraction to these shrubs can make them vulnerable to collisions when plantings occur along the roadside (Witmer 2002). There are no known management concerns for the species at this time (Witmer 2002).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Niven, D.K. and G.S. Butcher. 2009. Northward shifts in the abundance of North American birds in early winter: a response to warmer winter temperatures? National Audubon Society Online Report. 8 pp. Niven, D.K. and G.S. Butcher. 2009. Northward shifts in the abundance of North American birds in early winter: a response to warmer winter temperatures? National Audubon Society Online Report. 8 pp. (Link)
• Witmer, M.C. 2002. Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Witmer, M.C. 2002. Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)