Two-barred Crossbill

The Two-barred Crossbill, (White-winged Crossbill in North America), Loxia leucoptera, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

This bird breeds in the coniferous forests of Alaska, Canada, northernmost USA and across Asia extending into northeast Europe. There is an isolated subspecies, L. l. megaplage on Hispaniola. It nests in conifers, laying 3-5 eggs.

This crossbill is mainly resident, but will regularly erupt south, especially if its food source fails. The American subspecies seems to wander more regularly than the Eurasian race. This species will form flocks outside the breeding season, often mixed with other crossbills. It is a rare visitor to western Europe, usually arriving with an eruption of Common Crossbills.

The crossbills are characterised by the mandibles crossing at their tips, which gives the group its English name. They are specialist feeders on conifer cones, and the unusual bill shape is an adaptation to assist the extraction of the seeds from the cone. Two-barred Crossbill has a preference for larch, and will also take Rowan berries.

Adult males tend to be red or orange in colour, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation. Two-barred is easier to identify than other crossbills, especially in North America, where only Red Crossbill and this species occur, but some care is still needed.

Within its Eurasian range, this species is smaller headed and smaller billed than Parrot Crossbill and Scottish Crossbill, so the main confusion species both there and in North America is Common or Red Crossbill.

The main plumage distinction from Common Crossbills is the white wingbars which give this species its English and scientific names. There are also white tips to the tertials. The adult male is also a somewhat brighter red than other male crossbills. Some Common Crossbills show weaker white wingbars, so care is needed with the correct identification of this species. The chip call is weaker and higher than that of Common Crossbill