Medium-sized bird with slightly forked tail; bill crosses at tip; males are reddish, females are yellowish.
Mature and old-growth conifer forests
Seeds of conifers, alders, birches, willows, poplars; also insects
Sharp-shinned hawks, boreal owls, saw-whet owls; squirrels may eat eggs and young.
Crossbills may nest almost any time of the year. They are nomadic.
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