Two-barred Crossbill

Binding crossbill ( Loxia leucoptera )

Description

The binding crossbill is 14 to 16 inches long and a little more delicate than the crossbill. The beak is specialized in larch cones. The plumage of the female is yellow and raspberry red of the male or colored brick red. The coat is black spotted. The parents bear sharply angled, wide white shoulder feather tips and two white wing-bars. The lower one is in at the widest point and the top is angled.

His call sounds like " tjäck - tjäck ".

Habitat and diet

The binding crossbill lives mainly in North America, the Russian taiga and rare in northern Scandinavia. It breeds in areas with a high proportion of larch. The binding crossbill eats larch and other conifers seeds.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies: the North American Bind crossbill and the European binding crossbill. In Eurasia incubates the subspecies bifasciata, while the nominate form is limited to North America.