Most sightings of red crossbills in the Southern Appalachians involve flocks of crossbills flying overhead. An undulating flight pattern and “chip, chip, chip” call notes are identification clues. If ...

In response, crossbills with deeper bills have an advantage in prying open these cones. Cassia Crossbill’s beaks average .6 mm deeper. Type 5 Red Crossbills also feed on lodgepole cones, but do not ...

For birders, one of the most exciting avian winter events is an irruption of winter finches. Not eruption, as in a blowing volcano. Irruption refers to a mass migration of birds to a new region, ...

The red crossbill is aptly named. The bird is red, from brick to bright, and its bill is crossed. The latter is an adaptation, shared only with its close relative, the white-winged crossbill. Both of ...

You are able to gift 5 more articles this month. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more. In the last column, I wrote about the unusual bills of crossbills. These ...

The South Hills crossbill, potentially a newly discovered species of finch, has evolved over the past 6,000 years with a unique dependence on its food source, the Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine, in a ...

The white-winged crossbill (pictured) and the red crossbill have returned to Maine in large numbers this year. The finches have uniquely adapted bills that cross near the tip, allowing them to harvest ...