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Letter: Photographer captures visiting Bohemian Waxwing

Larry Paquette’s beautiful photo of a waxwing in Feb. 19’s In Focus shows an excellent close-up of the bird in a crab apple tree, part of their winter forage. The waxwing shown is actually a northern visitor called the Bohemian waxwing.

Larry Paquette’s beautiful photo of a waxwing in Feb. 19’s In Focus shows an excellent close-up of the bird in a crab apple tree, part of their winter forage. The waxwing shown is actually a northern visitor called the Bohemian waxwing.


Bohemian waxwings can quickly be identified by the exquisite maroon-brown under-tail coverts (feathers) and the prominent white wing bars on the wings.

Cedar waxwings are slightly smaller with white under tail coverts and plain brown wings with the red “wax-like droplets” where the name is derived.

We should never say never. Although most cedar waxwings leave Sudbury in the fall, last winter revealed small numbers of overwintering birds in our area.

Chris Blomme
Laurentian Universty