Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 5.9–6.7 in
15–17 cm - Wingspan
- 10.2–10.6 in
26–27 cm - Weight
- 0.8–0.9 oz
24–26 g
Other Names
- Two-barred Crossbill (British)
- Bec-croisé à Ailes Blances (French)
- Pico Cruzado (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- Individual White-winged Crossbills can eat up to 3,000 conifer seeds each day.
- Breeding of the White-winged Crossbill is opportunistic and can occur throughout the year whenever food is sufficient for the female to form eggs and raise young. The species has been recorded breeding in all 12 months.
- White-winged Crossbills with lower mandibles crossing to the right are approximately three times more common than those with lower mandibles crossing to the left.
- Adult White-winged Crossbills change (molt) their feathers once each year, usually in the autumn. The red feathers of the male have unpigmented barbules on the surface that mask the red and make the bird appear pink at first in the fall. As these barbules wear off the bright red shows through, making the spring and summer male brilliantly colored.
- The Hispaniolan Crossbill (Loxia megaplaga) used to be considered a subspecies of the White-winged Crossbill. It is found only in the pine forests of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Habitat
Forest
Coniferous forests, especially where large crops of spruce and tamarack cones can be found.
Food
Seeds
Conifer seeds, especially spruce and tamarack.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Bluish green to white with dark spots or blotches around large end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless and naked.
Nest Description
Open cup of twigs, grass stems, lichens or birch bark; lined with rootlets, lichen, bark shreds, hair, and cocoons. Well concealed in dense cover on branches of coniferous tree.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Hangs on cones and extracts seeds with oddly-shaped bill. Feeds in flocks. Takes grit and salt from roads
Conservation
Least Concern
No indication of declines; may be increasing in some areas. Abundant in some areas in some years, but absent the next.
Credits
- Benkman C. W. 1992. White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera). In The Birds of North America, No. 27 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists' Union.