Appearance:

Very similar to Parrot Crossbill, but has thinner neck, smaller head, steeper forehead and slender bill. Upper mandible is less curved towards the tip than in Parrot Crossbill, and the lower is straight, with no bulge. The tip of the lower mandible protrudes from behind the upper (tips of mandibles visibly crossing). The chest is less deep, and birds are not so front heavy. Large individuals may be difficult to identify because of overlapping characters with Parrot Crossbill. Plumage similar to Parrot, with dark wings and tail. Males with rufous red head and body, females green. Juveniles greyish green with streaking. Posture more erect than Parrot Crossbill, especially when foraging on ground.

Sound:

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. 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.

Contact call and song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-sound:Piotr Szczypinski, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Plumage green, grey and yellow. Note bright, yellow base of primaries and sides of tail in all ages and plumages. Deep and heavy conical bill. Tail forked and quite short. Plump build. Female more grey than male, with back diffusely streaked in brown and underparts greyish. Juveniles similar to females, with even more drab colours and heavier streaking (also on underparts). Strongly undulated flight. Often appears somewhat clumsy when trying to perch on feeders etc.

Sound:

Song composed of various sequences of linked sounds, repeated in a vibrating manner; "trrrrrrrrr", "chechechecheche". Sometimes resembles Brambling when making the wheezy "rrrrrrrrr" sound, but differs in being harsher and by "pulling" the pitch downwards (or sometimes upwards) at the end. Contact call a fairly resonant "chep-chep", resembling Redpoll, but less nasal and with a fuller tone. Also a sharp, drawn, ascending "kooeee", (perhaps not obviously recognized as a finch).

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC