Red Crossbill

Red Crossbills are Common but nomadic meaning depending of food supply year round.

Habitat

Red Crossbills typically inhabit mature conifer forests, and the different types tend to specialize on preferred trees, including western hemlock, Ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Sitka, and Engleman spruce.

Behavior

Red Crossbills are usually found in small flocks year round. They typically climb in mature conifers, using their bills to grab branches and cones. They will also occasionally land on deciduous trees and forage for aphids. Their bills are adapted for removing seeds from cones, and they start at the bottom of a cone and spiral upward, prying open each scale and removing the seeds with their tongues. The bills can cross in either direction, and the direction of the cross dictates the direction that the bird spirals up the cone. Each type has a distinct flight call, which is helpful in identification and may play a role in maintaining the isolation of each group.

Note 

Having just Type 3s Chewp of Western Hemlocks, Type 4s Plick of Douglas Firs and Rare Type 10s of Sitka Spruce.

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