White-winged Crossbill

The white-winged crossbill belongs to the finch family. Usually, it is smaller than some of its cousins, and the juvenile bird is more similar to other adult crossbills.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Fringillidae
Subfamily	Carduelinae
Genus	Loxia
Scientific Name	Loxia leucoptera

Quick Information

Also Known as	Two-barred crossbill
Description	Size:  5.5-6.2 in (14-16 cm) Weight:  0.88-1.2 oz (25-35 g) Color:  Males are red bodied while females are lemon green, both have two white stripes on their wings
Distribution	Finland, Alaska, Canada, and America
Habitat	Coniferous forest
Subspecies	1. Loxia leucoptera leucoptera 2. Loxia leucoptera bifasciata
Sounds & Calls	‘Toot’ and ‘Psrit’
Lifespan	Around 4 years
Diet	Alder, larch, birch, and spruce seeds
Adaptations	Their sturdy beak is exclusively for extracting the seeds
Predators	Blue jay and other bigger birds
IUCN Conservation Status	Least Concern

Behavior

• They forage in small flocks throughout the year
• They prefer only conifer seeds

Mating and Reproduction

Breeding depends on the food sufficiency as females need more food to lay eggs, so there is no particular season of mating, but most female birds after a successful period of courtship tend to lay 3-4 eggs in March-April. Eggs are mostly purple or brown spotted greenish to whitish in color. Their incubation period lasts for 12-14 days in a nest made of weeds and twigs, moss, and linen.

Life-cycle

Juvenile crossbills have a brown coloration with prominent white streaks. They leave the nest within 21-25 days.

Interesting Facts

• A white-winged crossbill can eat as much as 3,000 conifer seeds each day.
• The scientific name of the species has come from the meanings of two words, like Loxia that means crosswise, and leucoptera which means white-winged.

References

1. https://luontoportti.com/en/t/1671/two-barred-crossbill
2. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/whwcro/cur/introduction
3. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-winged_Crossbill/overview