Finches

White-winged Crossbill

Loxia leucoptera

A crossbill distinguished from its Red cousin by bold white wing bars and a slightly smaller bill adapted for smaller conifer cones. Males are rosy-pink and females are olive-yellow with streaking.

Current regional viewing notes

Spruce forests around Hoonah, especially where Sitka spruce cones are abundant; highly nomadic and may be absent in some years.

Dataset note: This legacy field can be specific to Southeast Alaska/Hoonah and is not a complete statewide range statement.

Habitat

Spruce and larch forests; specializes on smaller conifer cones.

Diet

Seeds from spruce cones, supplemented with insects during summer.

Natural history note

White-winged Crossbills can breed in any month of the year, including the dead of winter, as long as they find an adequate supply of conifer seeds.