Field Guide
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Common Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
Not yet photographed by the community
Crossed bill for prising conifer seeds; irruptive movements.
Species Profile
Amber List
- Lifespan
- 8–10 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 16–17 cm, wingspan 27–29 cm; 34–50 g
- Habitat
- Coniferous and mixed woodland, particularly spruce, pine, and larch plantations where seed-bearing cones are abundant.
- UK Distribution
- Irregular resident and winter visitor, mainly in Scotland and northern England; populations fluctuate based on continental seed crop availability, with occasional irruptions southward in invasion years.
- Diet
- Primarily conifer seeds extracted from cones using its specialised crossed mandibles; occasionally supplements with buds, insects, and salt from roads.
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, Eurasian kestrels, and occasionally Eurasian jays; eggs and chicks taken by magpies and crows.
- Mating Season
- December to April, unusually early for UK birds, timed to coincide with optimal cone maturation.
- Breeding
- Clutch of 3–4 eggs, incubation period 14–18 days, fledging at 18–22 days; typically one brood per year, occasionally two if food supply permits.
- Behaviour
- Highly nomadic, often seen in small flocks that move between feeding areas. Agile acrobatic feeder, often hanging upside-down to extract seeds from cones. Produces characteristic soft chirping calls and a distinctive wheezing flight call.
- •Its crossed mandibles are a unique adaptation perfectly designed to lever open conifer cones and extract seeds that other birds cannot access.
- •Breeding timing is determined by cone ripeness rather than day length, making it one of the UK's most flexible breeders.
- •Populations in the UK are partly resident and partly migratory, with regular irruptions from continental Europe during poor seed years.
- •Chicks are fed on regurgitated seeds rather than insects, unusual among UK birds, allowing breeding independent of insect availability.
- •The species shows remarkable dietary specialisation—some populations favour spruce cones while others prefer pine, leading to distinct subspecies.
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