Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) David C. Evers
Marquette Co., MI 3/17/2007 © Dave Pavlik
(Click to view a comparison of Atlas I to II) The Red Crossbill has the Darwinian finch scattered records over the past century that account for the Red Crossbill’s irruptive quality of adapting its bill size and shape to tendencies to follow cone crops combined with various types of food. The consequential an ability to breed in nearly any month of the taxonomic classification for separating year. The regular breeding range of Michigan’s subspecies and identifying new species based on Red Crossbill is confined to the UP. Summer bill morphometrics and flight calls continues. records are known from most UP counties For now, the group of birds known as Red during both Atlas periods. Confirmed breeding Crossbills inhabits a broad area of North in the UP is known from Chippewa, Luce, and America, from Alaska south to Nicaragua Schoolcraft counties during MBBA I and (Adkisson 1996). In the U.S., its breeding range Marquette and Schoolcraft counties during is primarily contained to coastal and MBBA II. Breeding records are not fully mountainous habitats of the West, the northern representative of the Red Crossbill’s regular Great Lakes region and into New York and New breeding range because of its erratic nesting England. Scattered populations along the season and choice of nest sites high in conifers. Appalachian Mountains and elsewhere occur Based on probable and confirmed breeding (Adkisson 1996). In Michigan, it is a year- observations in the UP during both Atlas round resident and breeds primarily in the UP, periods, there are three primary centers of but it can be found throughout the state, breeding activity – northern Chippewa-Luce especially in winter when northern cone crops Counties, central Schoolcraft County, and are sparse. northern Marquette County. Western
Ontonagon County and the tip of the Keweenaw Distribution Peninsula also have regular summer The nomadic nature of the Red Crossbill makes observations. its historical status difficult to interpret. Pre-
Atlas confirmed breeding records are known The Red Crossbill is closely associated with from three southern LP counties, whereas six conifer forests throughout the year. In counties in the northern LP have confirmed Michigan, savannah-like stands of mature red breeding during both Pre-Atlas (Zimmerman pine comprise preferred habitat. These areas are and Van Tyne 1959, Payne 1983) and MBBA I used by family groups and may serve as periods. However, these are by and large
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) David C. Evers important food sources for fledglings. Jack pine Literature Cited plains, sand ridges with mature pine, black spruce-tamarack bogs, and recent clearcuts are Adkisson, C.S. 1996. Red Crossbill (Loxia also used in the summer by foraging flocks. curvirostra), In The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab Breeding Biology of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of Breeding activity is generally dictated by North America Online:
© 2011 Kalamazoo Nature Center