Bird of the month 01/2005 Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) 18cm. Stocky bird unmistakable with its large crest mixed with red coloured buff. It has a soft-looking pinkish-brown plumage, black eye and black bib, yellow tail tip, yellow and white pattern on wing. Tips of its secondary flight feathers look like bright red wax. Its undertail feathers are rusty. It breeds in northern-eastern Europe (Skandinavia, Siberia) in conifer forests, but flocks often migrate to south to feed on berries both in rural and urban areas. In Hungary it is a winter visitor and appears in small and larger flocks when a poor berry crop in its far northern breeding areas forces it to south. In Hungary in recent years big Waxwing invasions were recorded in winter of 2002 and 2004. Habitat Breeds in northern conifer forests, rare winter visitor in Hungary to urban an rural berries areas Can be found in the following IBAs Upon Waxwings visit to Hungary one of the central points of migrating Waxwings is Tata 14 Lake Öreg at Tata | 
© Photo by Norbert Riezing |