The Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a sparrow sized bird with mandibles that are crossed at the tips. The male is a dusky brick red or orange color. The female is gray tinged with dull green or yellow which is brighter at the rump. There is much variation in color.
Crossbills are found in coniferous forests. They build their shallow saucer of a nest with bark strips, grass and roots lined with moss and plant down. There are 3 to 5 whitish eggs, lightly spotted with reddish brown.
Females incubate the eggs for 12 to 16 days. Young fledge at 15 to 25 days after hatching, depending on the availability of food.
Red Crossbills are monogamous and stay in pairs throughout the year.
Breeds from southern Alaska, Manitoba, Quebec, and Newfoundland, south in West to northern Nicaragua, in eastern United States to Wisconsin and Norther Carolina (mountains). Winters irregularly south to Gulf Coast.
The birds unusually shaped bill is used for opening pine cones.
The sharp tips of the jaws cross and overlap. This is an adaptation for opening the cones of evergreens to secure the little seeds beneath the scales. While doing this, crossbills hold the cones in their feet, parrot-wise, and twist off the scales rapidly and efficiently with their unique bill. Because of its dependence on pine seeds, the Red Crossbill is an erratic and nomadic species. When the cone supply fails, these birds gather in flocks and may wander far from their normal haunts. They may breed almost anywhere, and at any season, so long as the food supply is adequate. And as these pictures indicate, they will frequent bird feeders.
The lifespan of the Red Crossbill is approximately 8 years in the wild.
Class: Aves | Order: Passeriformes | Family: Fringillidae | Genus: Loxia
Photos of crossbills courtesy of Jeanne Jones.
