Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyFringillidae (Fringíl·lids)
- GenusLoxia (Crossbills)
- SpeciesLoxia curvirostra (Red Crossbill)
The red crossbill or common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other fruits. Adults are often brightly coloured, with red or orange males and green or yellow females, but there is wide variation in beak size and shape, and call types, leading to different classifications of variants, some of which have been named as subspecies. The species is known as "red crossbill" in North America and "common crossbill" in Europe. Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Red Crossbill sighting in Cairngorms National Park, based on 423 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Cairngorms National Park
Scottish Crossbill
Loxia scotica
Parrot Crossbill
Loxia pytyopsittacus
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
Eurasian Siskin
Spinus spinus
Eurasian Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis
European Greenfinch
Chloris chloris
Common Redpoll
Acanthis flammea
Eurasian Bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Linnet
Linaria cannabina
Brambling
Fringilla montifringilla
Twite
Linaria flavirostris
European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Red Crossbill in Cairngorms National Park?
About 17% of wildlife watchers report a Red Crossbill sighting in Cairngorms National Park, based on 423 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Red Crossbill in Cairngorms National Park?
November has the highest sighting rate for Red Crossbill in Cairngorms National Park in our monthly data.