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Project Noah Nature School
Loxia curvirostra
Crossbills are characterized by mandibles that cross at their tips. This feature enables them to separate the scales of conifer cones and extract the seeds which are their primary food. This is a finch of mature coniferous forests.
It breeds in the spruce forests of North America, Europe and Asia.
After a spell of heavy snow and cold temperatures there are often a few White-winged and Red Crossbills to be found in the greenspace that borders onto my backyard in Calgary. The red birds are male and the greenish yellow birds female.
Spotted on Jan 12, 2013
Submitted on Jan 13, 2013
13 Comments
Very beautiful.
Thanks. The great thing about this spotting was that I could see them from the window of my house!
Looks like a Christmas card series. Wonderful!
great series Ianmaton,congrats and thanks for sharing
Such lovely plumage and great photos ! Thanks.
Wonderful series!
REALLY nice!
Beautiful !
amazing pics...lovely
Thanks for the kind comments! They are never an easy subject but after following this small group of Crossbills for a while they finally moved to some lower branches enabling me to get some reasonable shots.
Gorgeous!
That's fantastic! Wonderful series!
You should add this beautiful spotting to the Wildlife with snow mission! http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8969...