Saturday, February 14, 2009

More on Crossbills

....The pictures below show off the white wing bars that distinguish the White-winged Crossbill from its cousin the Red Crossbill and also showcase their singular feeding habit of hanging upside down while picking the seeds from pine cones that make up the majority of their diet.













....The White-winged Crossbill's migration varies and they will pretty much travel to wherever there is food (probably one of the reasons that I've never seen them here before). Their song is a series of loud trills on different pitches and was the first thing that alerted me to the fact that they were in the area.
....White-winged Crossbills live mainly in conifer forests but will live most anywhere that has an abundance of pine and fur cones. Their diet consists of anything from pine and fur seeds, sunflower seeds, and berries to aphids and caterpillars.

Hopefully this hasn't bored you all beyond any ability to endure, but I enjoyed watching, photographing, and researching this new bird.:)

5 comments:

Leah said...

Hmm.. I suppose that means that they wouldn't be around us hu? Bummer. It was very interesting reading about these magnificent little birds. I'm sure my mom will enjoy reading it.

Fred & Leon said...

They are soooo cute! :) I also enjoyed learning a bit about them. Thanks for sharing with all of us!

~Emily

Fred & Leon said...

P.S. I also enjoyed reading your "12 Things" post on your sidebar. I didn't know that you were born with blonde hair! It's amazing how much people change as they grow older! :)

~Emily

Kat said...

I so enjoyed this--thank you!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

We are studying "Flying Creatures" this year for science...the variety of birds is so amazing and how God created them so intricately...thanks for the great photos