Red Crossbill
Elaine R. Wilson, www.naturespicsonline.com / CC BY-SA 3.0

Bird · Fringillidae

Red Crossbill

Loxia curvirostra

Bird call

© Bauke Albada / XC1142049 / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Facts

Habitat
Coniferous forest
IUCN status
LC (Least Concern)
Wingspan
~29 cm
Red Crossbill plumage
Plumage · (c) Karim Haddad, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Ecological relationships

Feeds on

  • Scots PinePinus sylvestris

    Beak evolved specifically to extract seeds from closed pine cones. Nearly obligate on conifers.

  • Norway SprucePicea abies

    Spruce cones are a primary food source across much of the European range; mandible morphology is adapted to prise open conifer cone scales.