Waxwings are preyed upon by birds of prey including rough-legged buzzards, Eurasian sparrowhawks, prairie falcons, and great grey shrikes.
Merlins attack winter flocks, including those in cities.
When alarmed, Bohemian waxwings "freeze" with bill and neck pointing upwards.
If this fails, they fly, calling noisily.

Bohemian waxwings are not brood parasitised by the common cuckoo or its relatives in Eurasia because the cuckoo's young cannot survive on a largely fruit diet.
In North America, the waxwing's breeding range has little overlap with brown-headed cowbird, another parasitic species.
Nevertheless, eggs of other birds placed in a Bohemian waxwing's nest are always rejected.
This suggests that in the past, perhaps 3 million years ago, the ancestral waxwing was a host of a brood parasitic species, and retains the rejection behaviour acquired then.

Parasitic mites include Syringophiloidus bombycillae, first identified on this species, and the nasal mite Ptilonyssus bombycillae.
Blood parasites include Trypanosoma species, and a Leucocytozoon first identified in this waxwing.
Bohemian waxwings may carry flatworms and tapeworms, but levels of parasitic worm infestation are generally low.
Waxwings are preyed upon by birds of prey including rough-legged buzzards, Eurasian sparrowhawks, prairie falcons, and great grey shrikes. Merlins attack winter flocks, including those in cities. When alarmed, Bohemian waxwings "freeze" with bill and neck pointing upwards. If this fails, they fly, calling noisily.
Bohemian waxwings are not brood parasitised by the common cuckoo or its relatives in Eurasia because the cuckoo's young cannot survive on a largely fruit diet. In North America, the waxwing's breeding range has little overlap with brown-headed cowbird, another parasitic species. Nevertheless, eggs of other birds placed in a Bohemian waxwing's nest are always rejected. This suggests that in the past, perhaps 3 million years ago, the ancestral waxwing was a host of a brood parasitic species, and retains the rejection behaviour acquired then.
Parasitic mites include Syringophiloidus bombycillae, first identified on this species, and the nasal mite Ptilonyssus bombycillae. Blood parasites include Trypanosoma species, and a Leucocytozoon first identified in this waxwing. Bohemian waxwings may carry flatworms and tapeworms, but levels of parasitic worm infestation are generally low.
Bohemian waxwing