A male red crossbill sits on the ground eating pine seeds at Fairmount Cemetery in Davenport in February. This particular flock was fond of hemlocks cones. (Brandon Caswell/correspondent) Buy Photo In ...

Crossbills are appropriate birds for the Christmas season. There are two species-red crossbill and white-winged crossbill. Both qualify as symbols of Christmas. Both are red overall. The white-winged ...

September brought the first hint that we might be in for some interesting times in the bird world, when the first Woodhouse’s scrub-jays appeared in the area, their distinctive, raucous calls ...

A long-eared owl perches in a tree in Chicago’s South Loop on Jan. 25, 2024. Peter Tsai/Chicago Tribune/TNS CHICAGO — After walking the grounds of the Morton Arboretum for hours on a December morning, ...

In response, crossbills with deeper bills have an advantage in prying open these cones. Cassia Crossbill’s beaks average .6 mm deeper. Type 5 Red Crossbills also feed on lodgepole cones, but do not ...

Most birds have bills with tips that come together when the jaws close. But not crossbills — hence their common name. The crossed bill tips are so unusual that they once were sometimes mistakenly ...

Crossbills are species of birds that eat seeds from the cones of spruce, pine and other evergreens. Over time they've evolved mandibles that cross at the tips. These odd beaks can be slipped between ...

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With winter in full swing, backyard feeders can fill up with birds forced down from the high country by snow and cold. Still, some hearty birds tough out even the worst that winter has to offer. For ...