Well, we find a lot of them here in Edmonton every year; or at least it
seems that way.
Which might be saying something about global warming, or a number of
other events....
Doug
On 1-Jan-05, at 6:47 PM, Ian Saville wrote:
> I looked it up - as follows:
>
> Bohemian Waxwing
> Bombycilla garrulus
>
> This species forms large winter flocks in the northern United States
> only
> about once a decade. Its occasional erratic movements southward in
> winter
> are thought to be caused by food shortages in the North. When it
> appears,
> it feeds on berries. One hundred or more of these birds perched in the
> top
> of a leafless tree in midwinter, calling shrilly, is an unforgettable
> event. Highly social, Bohemian Waxwings usually move about in tight
> formations, descending en masse on a clump of bushes and quickly
> stripping
> them of fruit.
>
> At 01:05 02/01/05, you wrote:
>> > flocks of five hundred
>> > this year is a waxwing year
>> > stare into the sky
>>
>> I should probably use Google to research, but Liz, what is the
>> difference
>> between a 'waxwing' year and a non-waxwing year?
>>
>> Stephen V
>> Blog: http://stephenvincent.durationpress.com
>
> Ian Saville
>
>
Douglas Barbour
Department of English
University of Alberta
Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E5 Canada
(780) 436 3320
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/dbhome.htm
Although they are
Only breath, words
which I command
are immortal
Sappho (Mary Barnard trans)
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