When you hear a high-pitched chorus watch! note on top, expect a good time: A flock of aggressive waxwings is on its way. Highly social birds that seem to have no sense of personal space, two species of North American waxwings—Bohemian and Cedar—also look very similar. Distinguishing these elegant birds makes a great ID challenge.

During the breeding season, placement can help with initial intestinal checks. Cedar Waxwings are dominant throughout the northern continental United States and southern Canada, inhabiting open areas or forest edges. Bohemian wax is found primarily in boreal forests and muskeg forests in Alaska and western Canada, with some records in the northwestern United States.

But these species overlap in parts of their ranges, and that commonality develops during winter, when both move far and wide in search of food. Due to their fruit-heavy diet, you are unlikely to find both species at bird feeders, but you may encounter them in any fruit trees within their range, even ornamental plants in yard and parking lot.

During the winter months, Cedar Waxwings are, on average, distributed farther south than Bohemians, occurring throughout southern Canada, the continental United States, Mexico, and occasionally Central America. While Bohemian Waxwings are generally scarce and irregular south of the Canadian border, they can become abundant locally north of the Rocky Mountains, east to northern Minnesota. In years when food is scarce, they may wander south along the Rockies or into the Midwest, New York, New England, and rarely farther south. These southward-straying Bohemians sometimes associate with the more common cedar flocks.

When you come across a herd containing both species, size may be the most obvious difference. Cedar Waxwings are smaller, similar in size to a large sparrow. Bohemians are almost an inch longer and weigh twice as much; when flying, they can give the impression of a European starling. However, size can also be deceiving. Cedar Waxwings can appear larger when flying alone or when fluffing their feathers to fight the cold.

Certain plumage characteristics also provide diagnostic identification points. Bohemians have cooler gray tones with red-orange sides, while Cedars are sandy or tan. Bohemians also have more complex patterns on their wings, with more white markings and a yellow streak running down their main wing feathers. Finally, and perhaps most notably, Bohemians have rust-colored undertail coverts—feathers that join the tail on the underside of the bird—while Cedars’ undertail coverts are white.

The sexes look similar in both species, but both Cedar and Bohemian Waxwing males tend to have more black on their chins than females. On average, males also have larger waxy red tips—yes, that’s actually a waxy secretion—on their feathers than females. Note that both of these characteristics can be difficult to distinguish in practice. Meanwhile, juveniles of both species are grayer and striped, and do not have their characteristic wingtips until they reach adulthood. It’s not entirely clear what the waxy wings are for, but older birds have more waxy wings, so it’s possible that they signal the bird’s health, age and social status to other members of the family. piano.

These two birds sound similar and sometimes identical, but with practice you can usually tell them apart by their voices. Cedar Waxwings make extremely high-pitched whistles and sounds, which can sound almost insect-like. Bohemian Waxwings often make a more throaty rattling sound, like a wet metal whistle.

As winter approaches and migrating birds head south, the prospect of waxwing sightings provides a source of excitement and motivation for bird hunting in the cold. Hopefully this winter you will have the opportunity to see and study both species of waxwings, enjoy their antics and gain a deeper appreciation for these charismatic birds.

This piece was originally published in the Winter 2022 issue as “What’s That Waxwing?”. To receive our print magazine, become a member by donating today .