[TopOfUtah] Red Crossbill types and feeding

[Ryan O'Donnell]

I wonder if all these Red Crossbills at feeders are a sign that their
normal food is running out.  Stephanie Cobbold also told me that she had
Red Crossbills at her feeder for the first time today, feeding on
millet.  Yesterday I saw some on the Utah State University campus in
Logan feeding on the ground.  They seemed to be digging in the mud for
seeds.  Here is a portrait of one of them that tended to stay pretty
clean:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/DSC_6799e.jpg
 
Another one wasn't too worried about getting her whole face in the mud:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/DSC_6810e.jpg
She got pretty muddy at some points.  Usually she would just leave the
mud on her face and continue foraging:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/DSC_6808e.jpg
But occassionally she would try to clean herself a bit:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/DSC_6820e.jpg
 
While I was watching these crossbills I thought they sounded different
than what I was used to hearing from this species.  Bird sounds are
always difficult to describe in text, but I feel like I usually hear a
more liquid "kip" or "kwip" from Red Crossbills, and these sounded
drier, more like a "whit" or "swit", and more similar to White-winged
Crossbills.  It made me wonder if these might be a different "type" than
the one that breeds around here, but I also don't know what type we
usually have.  (See Alice's email to the Bridgerland Audubon Listserv,
pasted below.)
 
Good birding,
Ryan
 
Ryan P. O'Donnell
Department of Biology and the Ecology Center
Utah State University
5305 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-5305
 
http://200birds.blogspot.com

________________________________

From: Nancy Williams [mailto:nancy.moonbeam at gmail.com]
Sent: Thu 3/26/2009 2:25 PM
To: nancy.moonbeam at gmail.com
Subject: HOTLINE: Red Crossbills at Country Club Drive



>From Alice Lindahl <alicelindahl at earthlink.net>
Date: Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 2:13 PM
Subject: Red Crossbills at Country Club Drive
To: Nancy Williams <nancy.moonbeam at gmail.com>



Dear birders:  I had a little flock of Red Crossbills at my house this
morning.  It was a life sighting for me, so I didn't mind creating a
small
traffic jam to look at them while I was still out in the street in my
car.
They were on the tops of juniper trees.  My neighbors, of course,
thought
that some catastrophe had happened and all stopped to offer assistance.

For those of you who have not spotted them yet, they really have huge
heads
compared to the more common finches about.  Combined with their short
stubby tail, they  look top heavy.  The crossed bill is visable from a
great distance.  Upon looking them up in my birdbook, I learn that there
are 9 varieties of Red Crossbill some with small and others with large
and/or massive bills.  They also have somewhat different vocalizations.
Does anyone know which variety ours are?

Also, I have had a large number of  sharpies at my feeders this winter,
way
more than usual, feasting on juncos.

Alice Lindahl






--
Nancy Williams
Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu <http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu/> 
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nanwilliams