Waxwing (kind)
| Waxwing | ||||||||||||
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Waxwing ( Bombycilla garrulus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bombycilla garrulus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Waxwing ( Bombycilla garrulus ) is a songbird from the family of the waxwings (Bombycillidae). Two (or three) poorly differentiated subspecies are distinguished: in addition to the nominate form, the nearctic breed B. g. pallidiceps as well as the somewhat unclear variety (or subspecies) B. g. centralasiae .
description
The waxwing grows to 18 cm and weighs 50 to 60 grams. From a distance, the almost starling-sized birds look rather inconspicuous rust-gray-brown, but up close they are very conspicuous and colorful. The most conspicuous and unmistakable characteristic is the pointed, partially erectable spring hood . A deep black stripe runs from the base of the strong black beak over the eyes to the neck, which has a fine white border in colored birds. Similar to the grosbeak of the same size but not related, a black throat flap appears under the beak. The tail ends with a black and then yolk yellow band. Some of the arm wings end in mostly red (sometimes red-orange) droplets that are shiny like sealing wax , which led to the English name waxwing . Up close, the fine white banding of the orange-yellow framed deep black hand wings is noticeable. The young have a whitish, gray dashed throat; the belly is whitish and brownish gray. The sexes do not differ in size and color.
It is a sociable bird and therefore mostly found in groups. Its glassy call sounds like "Sirrrrr" or "like a ringing key ring". A waxwing can live up to 13 years.
distribution and habitat
The waxwing inhabits the entire taiga zone from northern Scandinavia to Hudson Bay in Canada. The northern limit of distribution coincides with the transition zone from taiga to forest tundra , the southern limit of distribution varies greatly from region to region: Although the northern parts of the taiga are mainly populated throughout the distribution area, there are also larger occurrences - especially in central and eastern Siberia that lie on the southern edge of the forest belt. The species breeds in loosened, partly undergrowth, spruce-dominated mixed forest stands, very often near water bodies. In East Asia, loose larch stands are preferred . But also relatively dry birch forest , such as that found in the fells , is assumed to be a breeding habitat.
The waxwing swarms, which occasionally migrate to the south, often stay there as nomadic people in anthropogenically designed habitats such as park landscapes, cemeteries or outskirts and use the food available there.
nutrition
In autumn and winter, the diet consists of berries (mountain ash, juniper, mistletoe, snowball, privet and hawthorn berries as well as rose hips ), apples and pears. In the same way, large areas of wild wine are harvested extensively in cities by individual swarms in a few days , before moving to another location. During the breeding season, the waxwing feeds on insects , which it discovers from a viewing point and then preyed on in flight. The waxwing eats about twice its own body weight every day. Thanks to his large liver, he can reduce the possible alcohol content of overripe fruits fairly quickly.
Reproduction
The sexual maturity occurs a year. The main breeding season is May to July. The bowl-shaped nest made of grass , hair, moss and conifer branches is built in the upper area of trees, most of which are located on the edge of the forest, near bodies of water and other breeding pairs. The female lays four to six blue-gray eggs with black spots. These are incubated by the female for 13 to 14 days. The male provides food for insects and berries during the breeding season. The young birds fledge after about 15 to 17 days. Every year the waxwing looks for a new partner. The courtship consists, among other things, of feeding the female berries.
hikes
The species is a resident bird or a partial migrant . Only the populations living in the extreme north regularly leave their breeding grounds and overwinter a little south of it. If the availability of the fruit of their main food tree , the mountain ash , is reduced , other populations are encouraged to leave the breeding area. Large-scale invasions , such as those found in the winters 2004/2005 and 2008/2009, require not only a shortage of mountain ash fruits but also a previous number of poor winter seasons and successful breeding summers, so that there is a certain population pressure. This causes larger swarms to migrate to other areas. In Bavaria the waxwing was so numerous when it entered the winter of 2008/2009 that it came in 15th place at the winter birds' hour . Such evasions can lead individual swarms of the waxwing as far as the Mediterranean . It is not entirely clear whether these swarms of invasion migrate to death, but a considerable proportion of them do not seem to be able to return to their traditional breeding grounds.
Others
The sporadic and mysterious appearance of the waxwing schools in Central Europe was considered a bad omen by the population, especially in the Middle Ages . The species name plague bird , which is still used in Dutch, comes from this world of ideas ; in German-speaking Switzerland it is often called the bird of death . The Latin species name Garrulum Bohemicum and the English species name Bohemian Waxwing are not uninteresting either: Waxwing describes the strip or droplet-shaped ends of some arm wings that appear to have been dripped on with red wax. Bohemicum and Bohemian , however, have to do with the idea of earlier generations that the Bohemian people are particularly prone to vagabondage and artistically colorful, sometimes a little loud appearances.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Results of the Hour of the Winter Birds 2009 ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the State Association for Bird Protection in Bavaria (LBV). Retrieved November 28, 2009.
Web links
- Bombycilla garrulus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2004. Retrieved on 12 May, 2006.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Bombycilla garrulus in the Internet Bird Collection
- museum-digital: Natural History Museum Mainz / Zoological collection: Seidenschwanz
- Waxwing feathers