Common crossbill

Description

Crossbills are characterized by the mandibles crossing at their tips,which gives the group its English name.Using their crossed mandibles for leverage,crossbills are able to efficiently separate the scales of conifer cones and extract the seeds on which they feed.Adult males tend to be red or orange in colour,and females green or yellow,but there is much variation In North America,nine distinct red crossbill variants (referred to as call types) differing in vocalizations as well as beak size and shape are recognized.Each call type evolved to specialize on different species of conifer