Parrot Crossbill

Pine crossbill ( Loxia pytyopsittacus )

Description

The pine crossbill is 16 to 18 inches long. He is beefy, has a bull neck and a larger head than the Red Crossbill. The plumage is identical to that of common crossbill.

The most important characteristic of the pine crossbill is the massive beak. The lower mandible is almost as thick as the upper beak and has a parrot -like bulge in the middle. The bill is about as high as long, and the tip of the beak looks dull. Its beak is specialized in pine cones.

Habitat and diet

He lives in coniferous forests with a high proportion of pine and eats pine and other conifers seeds. The pine crossbills breed in Scandinavia and Northern and Eastern Europe. The breeding season falls mainly in the months of January to May. Their nests they build outside the tall pines. Pine Crossbills are less prone to large hikes, as the fruit set in pine trees not so large fluctuations as in spruce. The pine crossbill is rarer than the crossbill.

Voice

He is very happy to vote and calls similar to the crossbill but overall a little deeper and harder. His call sounds like " TüPP - TüPP - TüPP ".