Red Crossbills are irregular and somewhat unpredictable visitors to Arizona, where they appear in varying numbers depending on cone crops in coniferous forests. These finches are highly specialized, with crossed mandibles adapted for prying open the cones of pines, firs, and spruces. In Arizona, they are most often encountered in the higher elevation spruce–fir and mixed conifer forests of the White Mountains, the San Francisco Peaks, and occasionally in the “Sky Island” ranges such as the Chiricahuas and Pinaleños. Their presence is strongly tied to conifer seed availability, leading to local irruptions in some years followed by near absence in others.
Red Crossbills are known for their distinctive jip-jip flight call and their tendency to forage in noisy flocks, often clipping off entire cones to reach the seeds. They are variable in size and bill shape, with different populations adapted to particular conifer species. While the taxonomy of Loxia curvirostra is complex, with multiple call types and potential cryptic species recognized in North America, Arizona birds are usually associated with types that feed on ponderosa and other pines.
Breeding can occur at almost any season in Arizona when food is abundant, with nests tucked high in conifers and lined with grasses and feathers. Their irregular appearances and nomadic movements make them an exciting find for birders in the state, as they may suddenly appear in numbers and just as quickly vanish when cone crops fail.
Female