504 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



Bohemian Waxwing. Bombycilla garrula (Linnaeus) 



Field characters. — Somewhat smaller than Kobin (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 Ci-eek, 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 con- 

 stitutes 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 indi- 

 viduals 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. 



Cedar Waxwing. Bombycilla cedrorum Vieillot 



Field characters. — Slightly larger than Junco; head crested; plumage soft appearing; 

 tail small; sexes alike. General color of plumage grayish brown; belly yellowish; chin, 

 bill, and streak through eye, black; tail tipped with yellow; under tail coverts whitish. 

 Flight swift, undulating, in a course usually low over or among trees. Voice: A series 

 of rather faint, high pitched, hissing notes. 



Occurrence. — Sparing visitant in fall, winter and spring on both slopes of Sierra 

 Nevada. Stations and dates of record: Snelling, May 26, 1915 (5 individuals) ; Smith 

 Creek, 6 miles east of Coulterville, January 31, 1917, and December 7, 1915; El Portal, 

 October 7, 1914 (one) ; Yosemite Valley, September 28, 1920 (small flock) ; Warren 

 Fork of Leevining Creek, September 27, 1915 (12); Mono Lake Post Ofiice, May 24, 

 1916 (one). Seen usually in close flocks, in or near berry producing shrubs or trees. 



The Cedar Waxwing is one of the few species of birds which wander 

 about over the country erratically, appearing as a winter visitant in num- 

 bers in a given locality for one or more years and then being almost or 

 entirely absent from that locality for a like period. Its movements are 

 probably governed by food supply ; yet it seems curious that, patronizing 

 as it does a wide variety of trees and shrubs, it should not readily find 



