The Japanese waxwing is an East Asian waxwing with a red tail tip, a cousin of the Cedar and Bohemian waxwings. It breeds in the Russian Far East and northeastern China and spends the winter farther south in East Asia, including Japan and Korea. You won't see it in the wild in North America.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 7 in (18 cm) long. Pinkish-brown with a pointed crest, black mask and throat, pale yellow center of the belly, rusty-red undertail, and a dark gray tail with a red tip.
- Voice
- A high, thin trill. It has no true song.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Conifer forest (breeding)
- Open woodland
- Parks and gardens
- Range
- Breeds in dense conifer forests of the Russian Far East (Amur basin, Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin) and northeastern China. Winters in Japan, Korea, eastern China, and Taiwan. Not found in North America.
- Seasonal presence
- A wanderer in winter: it follows berry crops, so numbers change a lot from year to year.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly fruit and berries; insects in summer.
- Social life
- Travels in flocks that often mix with Bohemian waxwings.
Life cycle
- Nest
- A cup of twigs lined with grass and moss, placed in a tree.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NTNear ThreatenedCould become threatened before long
- Status
- Its numbers are thought to be falling because the forests it breeds in are being lost and degraded, and because birds are trapped for the wild bird trade.
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