Japanese waxwing

Last updated

Japanese waxwing
Bombycilla japonica.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Bombycillidae
Genus: Bombycilla
Species:
B. japonica
Binomial name
Bombycilla japonica
(Siebold, 1824)

The Japanese waxwing (Bombycilla japonica) is a fairly small passerine bird of the waxwing family found in the East Palaearctic. It feeds mainly on fruit and berries but also eats insects during the summer. The nest is a cup of twigs lined with grass and moss which is built in a tree.

Contents

Description

The Japanese waxwing is about 18 cm in length and its plumage is mostly pinkish-brown. The Japanese waxwing has a pointed crest, a black throat, a black stripe through the eye, a pale yellow centre to the belly and a black tail with a red tip. The wings have a pattern of black, grey and white with a reddish-brown stripe running across them. Its call is a high-pitched trill but there is no true song.

Unlike the other species of waxwing, it lacks the row of waxy red feather-tips on the wing which gives the birds their name. Japanese waxwings often occur in mixed flocks with Bohemian waxwings which, as well as having the row of waxy tips, are slightly larger with a yellow tail-tip, greyish centre to the belly and no reddish-brown stripe across the wing.

Distribution and habitat

Two Japanese waxwings feeding on berries Bombycilla japonica (2).jpg
Two Japanese waxwings feeding on berries

The Japanese waxwing breeds in the dense coniferous pine forest of the Russian Far East (Amur, Manchuria, Kamchatka, etc.) and in Heilongjiang province, north-east China. It is experiencing some threats with extinction, due to loss and degradation of its preferred, forest habitat.

Outside of the breeding season, this waxwing winters on Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Eastern China; the exact distribution is irregular, as birds will travel and move in search of food, mainly seasonal berries, and birds may be common in a certain area during one year but move away the next. In Japan, it is generally present from November through April; few birds winter on Hokkaidō, but in south-western Japan (parts of Kyūshū, Shikoku, Honshu), it outnumbers the Bohemian waxwing. The winter habitat is open woodland, low-lying farmland, or low mountains, with birds frequently visiting the berry-laden trees of parks and private gardens.

Vagrant birds have been known to appear in Hong Kong, Central China and Taiwan; records from further afield, such as in Europe, South Asia or the Middle East, are more than likely to be escapees from captivity (or aviculture) than genuinely wild birds.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fieldfare</span> Species of bird

The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waxwing</span> Genus of birds

The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus Bombycilla. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, a crest, a square-cut tail and pointed wings. Some of the wing feathers have red tips, the resemblance of which to sealing wax gives these birds their common name. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae, although sometimes the family is extended to include related taxa that are more usually included in separate families: silky flycatchers, Hypocolius (Hypocoliidae), Hylocitrea (Hylocitreidae), palmchats (Dulidae) and the Hawai'ian 'honeyeaters' (Mohoidae). There are three species: the Bohemian waxwing, the Japanese waxwing and the cedar waxwing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemian waxwing</span> Passerine bird from Eurasia and North America

The Bohemian waxwing is a starling-sized passerine bird that breeds in the northern forests of the Palearctic and North America. It has mainly buff-grey plumage, black face markings and a pointed crest. Its wings are patterned with white and bright yellow, and some feather tips have the red waxy appearance that give this species its English name. The three subspecies show only minor differences in appearance. Females are similar to males, although young birds are less well-marked and have few or no waxy wingtips. Although the Bohemian waxwing's range overlaps those of the cedar and Japanese waxwings, it is easily distinguished from them by size and plumage differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar waxwing</span> Species of bird

The cedar waxwing is a member of the family Bombycillidae or waxwing family of passerine birds. It is a medium-sized, mostly brown, gray, and yellow. This bird is named for its wax-like wing tips. It is a native of North and Central America, breeding in open wooded areas in southern Canada and wintering in the southern half of the United States, Central America, and the far northwest of South America. Its diet includes cedar cones, fruit, holly berries, and insects. The cedar waxwing is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pin-tailed sandgrouse</span> Species of bird

The pin-tailed sandgrouse is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family. It has a small, pigeon like head and neck and a sturdy, compact body. It has long pointed wings, which are white underneath, a long tail and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn. The call is a loud kattar-kattar. This gregarious species breeds on dry open treeless plains and similar habitats. Its nest is a ground scrape into which two or three cream-coloured eggs with cryptic markings are laid. Both sexes incubate the eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger shrike</span> Species of bird

The tiger shrike or thick-billed shrike is a small passerine bird which belongs to the genus Lanius in the shrike family, Laniidae. It is found in wooded habitats across eastern Asia. It is a shy, often solitary bird which is less conspicuous than most other shrikes. Like other shrikes it is predatory, feeding on small animals. Its nest is built in a tree and three to six eggs are laid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-bellied flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The golden-bellied flycatcher is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is an endemic resident breeder in Costa Rica and western Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaintive cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The plaintive cuckoo is a species of bird belonging to the genus Cacomantis in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is native to Asia, from India, Nepal and China to Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese grosbeak</span> Species of bird

The Chinese grosbeak, yellow-billed grosbeak, or black-tailed hawfinch is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grasshopper buzzard</span> Species of bird

The grasshopper buzzard is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which is found in a narrow zone of sub-Saharan Africa north of the equator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black wood pigeon</span> Species of bird

The black wood pigeon or Japanese wood pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in East Asia along shorelines of the Pacific's Korea Strait, Philippine Sea and East China Sea. It is believed to be the largest representative of the genus, Columba, and has a weight of around 550 grams (1.2 lb) and an overall length of 43 cm (17 in). Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The species is in decline owing to habitat loss, habitat degradation, deforestation and hunting. This wood pigeon is endemic to the laurel forest habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pale thrush</span> Species of bird

The pale thrush is a passerine bird of the eastern Palearctic belonging to the genus Turdus in the thrush family Turdidae. It is closely related to the eye-browed thrush and grey-backed thrush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of Colombia</span>

The fauna of Colombia is characterized by a high biodiversity, with the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Bombycilla japonica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22708150A131946490. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22708150A131946490.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.