The Bohemian Waxwing 
Recognition Marks. —Towhee size; grayish brown coloration. As distin¬ 
guished from the much more common Cedar-bird: belly not noticeably yellow; white 
wing-bars; under tail-coverts cinnamon. 
Nesting. —Does not breed in California. Much like that of next species. Eggs: 
Larger. Av. size 24.9 x 17.5 (.98 x .69). 
Range of Bombycilla garrula. — Boreal zones of Northern Hemisphere. 
Range of B. g. pallidiceps. —North America, breeds west of Hudson Bay nearly 
to the limit of trees, and south to southern British Columbia, Alberta, and northern 
Idaho; winters east to Nova Scotia and south regularly through the northern tier of 
states, and occasionally to California, Colorado, southern Illinois, Pennsylvania, 
Connecticut, etc. 
Occurrence in California. —Of irregular occurrence in winter; sporadically 
abundant. There were especially notable invasions in 1882, in 1911, and in 1919, 
—the last named extending clear to San Diego County. 
Authorities. —W. E. Bryant ( Ampelis garrulus), Zoe, vol. iv., 1893, p. 226 
(Susanville, February, 1892); Maillard and Grinnell, Condor, vol. viii., 1895, p. 77 
(Victorville, Mohave Desert); Pierce , Condor, vol. xxii., 1920, p. 110 (Claremont); 
Stephens , Condor, vol. xxii., 1920, p. 159 (Vallecito, San Diego Co.); Cones , Birds 
Col. Val., 1878, pp. 451, 459 (desc., hist., bibliog., syn., etc.); Oberholser, Auk, vol. 
xxxiv., 1917, p. 330 (syst. rev.); Swarth, Univ. Calif. Pub. Zook, vol. xxiv., 1922, 
p. 266, col. ph, figs., map (habits, desc. nests and eggs, plumage changes, etc.). 
IT WAS not a very happy inspiration which dubbed this bird “Bohe¬ 
mian”; 1 for however accurate the term in its prime literary sense of “wan¬ 
dering,” it does violence to the character of the Northern Waxwings in 
all other respects. These are very decorous Gypsies. Though they be 
nomads, their manners have suffered no breach thereby; and irregularity of 
conduct is a thing not to be thought of in their polished circles. Nothing 
could exceed the refined elegance of these “gentlemen in feathers” 
who occasionally cross our northern borders in winter. Demure, gentle, 
courteous to a fault, and guileless to the danger point, and beyond, these 
lovely creatures exceed in beauty, if possible, their more familiar cousin, 
the Cedarbird. They move about in flocks, sometimes to the number of 
hundreds, and as the rigors of winter come on they search the orchard and 
berry-patch for ungarnered fruit, or divide with hungry Robins the largess 
of rowan trees. Much time is spent in amiable converse, but it is not at 
all fair to call them “chatterers,” or garrulus, 2 as though they were mon¬ 
keys. Dignity is of the very essence of their being, and, as fond as they 
are of good living, they would starve rather than do anything rude or 
unseemly. 
1 “ Bohemian, the French appellation of Gypsies, involves an error similar to ours; they were taken at first by the 
common people of France to be the expelled Hussites of Bohemia, and hence this name” (Trench). 
2 Originally named Lanius garrulus by Linnaeus in 1758. 
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