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Red Crossbill Identification
Adult male
Typical call is a series of short, sharp "jip" notes.
© DAVID BROWN | Macaulay LibraryNew York, August 09, 2006Female
Uses its crisscrossed bill to extract seeds from pine cones. Females are yellowish overall.
© Ryan Schain | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 29, 2012Flock
Moves in large nomadic flocks in search of good cone crops.
© Ross Gallardy | Macaulay LibraryVirginia, April 01, 2016Adult Description
- Stocky red or greenish finch.
- Plain blackish wings.
- Short, notched tail.
- Thick, curved bill with crossed tips.
Male Description
Head and body deep brick red to reddish yellow, or greenish. Wing feathers blackish brown, without wingbars. Tail blackish brown.Female Description
Uniformly olive or grayish, with greenish or greenish yellow chest and rump. Wing feathers blackish brown, without wingbars. Tail blackish brown.Immature Description
Juvenile with heavy dark streaks on whitish chest. Back gray-brown tinged with pale green or brown. Rump yellowish with dark streaks. Thin buffy wingbars. Immature like adult female, but some males may be reddish or mixed red and yellow.Relative Size
sparrow-sized or smallerMeasurements
- Both Sexes
