Loxia pytyopsittacus
Length:
16cm to 18cm
Wingspan:
30cm to 34cm
Weight:
48g to 61g
The parrot crossbill is a large and powerful member of the finch family, extremely similar to the crossbill and Scottish crossbill. They have a similar bill structure to both of these birds, but have a call that is much deeper and distinctive - this is the best way to separate them.
Males are orange to red colour with darkish wings and tails. Females are grey or olive-green in colour. Both have sharp forked tails and parrot-like bills.
The parrot crossbill flared up in Britain after the corn crop failure in parts of Europe and has bred away from Abernethy Forest where they have a stronghold.
Their diets consist of conifer seeds, mainly pine. In the breeding season they'll eat insects too.
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