Home › Volumes › Bird Homes › Open Nests in Trees, Bushes, and Vines
Red Crossbill; American Crossbill
Adult Male--Red or reddish, except the wings and tail, which are brown.
Adult Female--Dull yellowish; back slightly mottled; under parts whitish, somewhat streaked; the tips of the bill are crossed. Length--6.19.
Breeding Range--In the Alleghanies, from North Carolina northward, and in the Northern States.
The nest is usually placed in evergreens at a height varying from fourteen feet upwards. It is composed of strips of bark, small twigs, roots, and leaves, lined with moss, hair, grass, and pine roots. The eggs, 3 to 4 in number, are pale greenish, with spots, dots, and blotches of purple brown and light lilac gray, chiefly at the larger end. Size--.83 x .55.
These eccentric-looking birds may be readily distinguished from the white-winged crossbills by the fact that they have no white on the wings; their crossed bills serve to distinguish them from any other of the finches. The breeding season begins as early as February or March. (Davie.)