Red crossbill

Male red crossbill with a brick-red head and body perched on a snow-covered branch, showing its crossed bill, Manitoba

The red crossbill is a stocky finch with a remarkable bill, its tips crossed like a pair of pincers. The adult male is a deep brick red, while the female and young birds are olive green or yellow-orange, so a single flock can look surprisingly mixed.

That crossed bill is a tool for prying open the scales of spruce, pine, and tamarack cones to reach the seeds inside. Crossbills follow the cone crops, so they wander widely and unpredictably, and in Manitoba they can turn up in winter flocks in conifers and at feeders and roadsides, where they take grit and salt.

What fascinates me is the crossed bill of a red crossbill, such an odd tool and such a clever one for prying open cones.

For more on the red crossbill and its habitat, see its species guide at All About Birds.

Field notes in photographs

  • Male red crossbill with a brick-red head and body perched on a snow-covered branch, showing its crossed bill, Manitoba
  • Red crossbill with orange-red plumage perched on a frosty twig against a soft pale background, Manitoba
  • Olive-green female red crossbill perched on a snowy branch with a crossed bill, Manitoba
  • Orange and olive red crossbill clinging to a thin twig in falling snow, Manitoba
  • Young red crossbill with yellow-green plumage and a crossed bill on frost-covered branches, Manitoba

Red crossbill Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the red crossbill in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Map of Manitoba showing where the red crossbill lives year-round and spends the winter, with major cities and lakes
Where to look for the red crossbill in Manitoba through the seasons: living year-round in the Boreal Shield and the Boreal Plains (teal) and wintering in the Prairies (blue). Habitat regions: National Ecological Framework for Canada. Boundaries: Statistics Canada. Lakes: Natural Earth.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.

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