Crossbills

Crossbills are birds of the genus Loxia within the finch family (Fringillidae), with five or six extant and one extinct species. These birds are distinguished by their mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation; some females, and juveniles, are greyish-green; juveniles are also streaked dark-on-pale.

Crossbills are specialist feeders on conifer cones, and the unusual bill shape is an adaptation which enables them to extract seeds from cones. These birds are typically found in higher northern hemisphere latitudes, where their food sources grow, but extending into the tropics in Central America, Hispaniola, Vietnam, and the Philippines. They irrupt out of the breeding range when the cone crop fails. Crossbills breed very early in the year, often in winter months, to take advantage of maximum cone supplies.