BOHEMIAN WAXWING. Bombycilla garrula (Linnaeus)

Field characters.—Somewhat smaller than Robin (half again as large as Cedar Waxwing) and with much smaller tail; head crested; sexes alike. General color of plumage dark gray; chin and throat, bill and streak through eye, black; end of tail yellow; two lines of white marks on each wing; under tail coverts reddish brown.

Occurrence.—Rare and irregular fall and winter visitant. A flock seen and specimens taken by Donald D. McLean, at Smith Creek, 6 miles east of Coulterville, January 31, 1917. One individual was noted in Yosemite Valley on September 28, 1920 (C. W. Michael, MS).

The Bohemian Waxwing is even more of a rover than its smaller relative, the Cedar Waxwing, and visits California only at rare intervals. There was a general invasion of the northern portion of the State by this bird in 1892 and again in 1911, but the flock seen at Smith Creek constitutes the only California record of the species for 1917. The flock in question comprised about sixty Bohemian and three Cedar waxwings. These birds were feeding on decaying apples in an orchard.

The Bohemian Waxwing may be readily identified by the characters given above. The average weight of four individuals was 55 grams, which is just one and a half times the weight of the smaller species. Many individuals of both species have the inner flight feathers (secondaries) of the wing provided with red wax-like tips, whence comes the common group name of these birds.