Red Crossbill Call MP3s
Crisp Loxia curvirostra recordings built for birders and researchers tracking this nomadic, conifer-seed specialist finch.
Also known as
Recordings (4)
About this species
A passerine songbird measuring roughly 16 cm, the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is unmistakable — unique among finches for its crossed mandible tips, used to prise open conifer cones. It is a bird of spruce and pine forest, wandering widely in search of cone crops.
It gives a hard, explosive 'chip-chip-chip' as flocks bound between treetops. It feeds almost entirely on conifer seeds, prising the cones apart with its crossed bill. It can nest in the depths of winter whenever a cone crop is abundant. From breeding grounds across Europe to Mediterranean and African wintering areas, its seasonal journeys mark the turning year.
Legal use
The Red Crossbill is a protected species in every jurisdiction we have verified: it is covered as a migratory bird under the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act, protected under the EU Birds Directive and Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act, and safeguarded in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. We have found no country where it is currently managed as a legal game species. This recording is intended for identification, birdwatching and research use, not hunting. Because protections and any permitted-use exceptions can differ by country, please check our full country-by-country disclaimer before use.