Waxwing

Waxwing irruptions

Waxwings are famous for irruptions — unpredictable winter invasions of countries far from their breeding range, triggered by berry crop failures in their native boreal forests. In years when Scandinavian and Siberian rowan (Sorbus) and mountain ash berry crops fail, hundreds of thousands of waxwings push south and west into Central and Western Europe. Britain receives irregular but sometimes spectacular irruptions — tens of thousands of birds in good invasion winters.

Berry specialists

Waxwings are almost entirely frugivorous outside the breeding season, consuming enormous quantities of berries from rowan, cotoneaster, hawthorn, rosehip, and crab apple. A single waxwing can consume its own body weight in berries daily. They are remarkably efficient at fermenting fruit sugars — waxwings are known to become intoxicated from fermenting berries, a sight that has been widely reported and photographed.

The waxy wingtips

The red waxy tips on the secondary feathers (resembling drops of sealing wax) give the bird its name. These tips are actually flattened, pigmented feather shafts — they are more prominent in older birds and in birds in good condition. Their function is uncertain; they may play a role in mate selection.

Urban berry hunters

During irruption years, waxwings descend on urban areas wherever berry-producing ornamental trees are planted — shopping centre car parks with cotoneaster hedges, rowan-lined streets, and garden berry trees. They are often surprisingly approachable, allowing close observation. Their striking appearance (often compared to “exotic” birds that escaped from captivity) and sudden appearance in suburban Britain makes them very popular with birdwatchers.