Waxwing bombycilla garrulus

Waxwings are about the size of a starling but much more colourful, they are 18cm long with a 32-35 cm wingspan and weight between 45 and 63 g. They have a pink breast and crest, a distinctive black mask and throat, a grey rump and black tail tipped with yellow and yellow and white markings on its wings. The tips of the secondary flight feathers have a series of spikes that look like bright red wax. Its plumage is described as soft looking.

The hawfinch is a similar size and colouring to the waxwing but it has a heavy looking bird with a large conical bill and no crest. It also lacks the black mask and bright colouring on the wings.

When waxwings are feeding in flocks on bushes and trees they can be mistaken for starlings but a close look will show up the colouring and crest of the waxwing.

In the winter feeding on berries especially hawthorn and rowan but also cotoneaster and rose hips because of this they are often seen in shopping centre carparks where there is a ready supply of berries. They can also be seen on hedgerows and woodland with a good supply of berries. They arrive along the coast and move inland in search of food.

Waxwings are winter visitors and most years only about 1,000 birds arrive although in some years they appear in greater numbers, called irruptions, and it is when their numbers get too large for the breeding grounds. They arrive between October and November and stay until April when they return to their breeding grounds in Northern Europe.

Plant the trees and shrubs that provide the waxwings with a good supply of red berries, these include the native rowan, hawthorn and rose but also garden plants like roses that produce good haws and red berried species of cotoneaster and pyracantha.
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