Red crossbill / Fichtenkreuzschnabel (Loxia curvirostra)

Fichtenkreuzschnabel. 2025-10-16 14:47:07 Engadin

Observations

First documented observation: 2020-06-13 in Sils. Most recent observation: 2026-03-17 in Kaltbrunner-Riet.

Description

Classification: Genus Loxia (Loxia); Subfamily Carduelinae (Carduelinae); Family Fringillidae (Fringillidae)
Geography: This bird appears across the great seas in the following continents: Europe, North America, Africa.
General: Forests with conifers. Some spend the winter in Switzerland, others are here year-round.
General: Deutschland: Brut-, Jahres-, Zugvogel, Wintergast
Appearance and identification: Nabu.de: das Männchen schon von weitem durch seine ziegelrote Farbe auf. Das Weibchen dagegen ist unscheinbar graugrün gefärbt.Größe: 15 bis 17 Zentimeter Zugtyp: Teilzieher Beobachtungszeitraum: Oktober bis April, im Mittelgebirge und Alpenraum ganzjährig. [Link]
New research suggests that there may be as many as eight different full species of Red Crossbills on [North America]. [Link]
Behavior: Wikipedia: a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae, also known as the Common Crossbill in Eurasia. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other fruits. [Link]

Seasonal behavior

Year-round bird
Breeding: 01-01 - 12-31
Migration in: 01-01 - 12-31
More details at Vogelwarte.ch

Other Details

Physical details

Physical details: length=16 cm, wingspan=27-30 cm, weight=35-50 g
Habitats: Forest

Vocalisation

Song: Repeated hi-low pattern...well, doesn't always sound like that. The very short beginning of my Stazersee recording before the static sets in does, as well as a song found online. One recording reminds me of cicada sounds.
Song: The song consist of improvised, resonant twittering, and series of contact calls with no apparent phrases. It is generally faster, with less marked pauses than in Parrot Crossbill, and the phrasing seems more random. [Link] Song attributes: Melody: stereotype melodic, slow, Frequency: 2-10 KHz
Calls: Contact call similar to Parroy Crossbill's "tupp", but is on average higher and less powerful, with a "cut-off" ending. In sum: Parrot Crossbill; hard attack, soft ending, Crossbill: softer attack, cut-off ending. Beware regional variations and overlap in pitch of calls with Parrot. [Link] No details but a Xeno-Canto recording. - but really OWN
Fichtenkreuzschnabel Rufe bei Bever.

Fichtenkreuzschnabel Rufe bei Bever. Switzerland 2025-10-16 14:45:00 ♫ 2025-10-16 14:45:00 Switzerland (call)

Call attributes: song Frequency: ,