White-winged Crossbill

 A compact, medium-sized finch with a slightly forked tail and a large, crossed beak.  Adult males are pinkish-pink with black wings and tail and two white wings. Females and males are yellow but have the same wings and tail. Young people are brown in color, trailing below, with white wing bars.  Blue streaked Lory yellow collared lovebird White-winged Crossbills stay in flocks all year round, even during nesting season. They feed mainly on spruce and tamarack, opening the cones with their beaks to eat the seeds. They also take sand from the ground to eat insects in summer. In years when spruce and other cones are scarce, large numbers run or wander through the range.  Boreal forests, especially spruce and tamarack. During outbreaks, look for them in spruce trees (including ornamentals), hemlock forests, orchards, and sometimes in backyard feeders.  Loxia leukoptera   Security Levels Total numbers are difficult to track due to volatility. The number ca...