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Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
37.4994, -122.472
Field Notes
Description:
The Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other fruits.
Adults are often brightly coloured, with red or orange males and green or yellow females, but there is wide variation in colour, beak size and shape, and call types, leading to different classifications of variants, some of which have been named as subspecies.
Habitat:
Conifer forests
Notes:
This is an unusual species to see at a coastal feeder, but due to the poor seed cone production in the north this season, this species along with several other seed cone dependent birds have been seen more often than usual.
Reference Links:
Red Crossbill
Species ID Suggestions
Spotted for Missions
Photographed
PublishedMarch 12, 2013
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