Crossbills

The Crossbill was named after the way the end

The Red Crossbill, photo taken from The Birds Picture Display

of its beak overlaps and crosses. This is a very unusual characteristic, which allows them to crack open seeds and cones with ease. In this area there are two species of Crossbills: the Red-Winged and the White-Winged Crossbills. Both females of the two species are an olive-grey with yellowish rumps and breasts, their only difference is the dashes of white on the White-winged female. The males of both species are red, however the White-winged male is more of a rose shade, and has the white dashes. The Red-Winged Crossbill's call is a jip-jip or a jip-jip-jip sound where as the White-Winged Crossbill is a chif-chif sound. They can both be found in spruce, hemlock, and fir mixed forests.