The Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) is a plump bird, which is slightly smaller than a Starling. It has a prominent crest (head feathers that stick up). It's reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask around its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor. In some years, we see larger numbers of visiting Waxwings, called irruptions, when the population in their breeding grounds gets too big for the food available.
January 2024 - Rodborough Common
