Medium-sized stocky finch with a crisscrossed bill. Adult males are bright red with a black tail and wings marked by 2 bold white wingbars.
Stocky finch with a crisscrossed bill. Females are yellowish with streaks on the back and belly. They also have 2 bold white wingbars, though one wingbar is often concealed.
Uses the crisscrossed bill to separate the scales on the pine cone and extract the seeds.
Immature males are patchy red and yellow with dark wings marked by 2 bold white wingbars.
Juveniles are heavily streaked above and below with 2 white wingbars.
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A compact, medium-sized finch with slightly forked tail and heavy, crossed bill.
Larger than a Pine Siskin, smaller than a Pine Grosbeak.
sparrow-sized or smallerNorth America has one subspecies (leucoptera), and Eurasia has a larger subspecies, bifasciata, often called “Two-barred” Crossbill. Eurasian birds have larger bills and less black in the plumage. They also have different songs.
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family:Fringillidae)
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