Walking into a pine grove, you hear soft, unfamiliar calls overhead. Looking up, you see a dozen small birds clambering about over the pine cones, acting like tiny parrots. Some are red, some are dull yellow-green. Take a good look: These are crossbills, and they may stay put for a month or maybe a hundred miles away tomorrow. Two species, red crossbill and white-winged crossbill, are widespread in North America. And they’re among the most unusual birds in the world.
UNIQUE BEAKS
When you look at a crossbill’s face, it’s obvious how it got its name. The bill is thick at the base, but the mandibles cross over each other instead of meeting at their narrow tips. This shape would be awkward for picking up most items, but it’s perfect for one thing—prying open the cones of pines, spruces, hemlocks and other evergreens.
For most small birds, getting seeds out of a cone is too complicated to be worth the effort. For crossbills, it’s a snap. The bird inserts its bill between two cone scales and then closes it so that the crossed tips push the scales apart. Twisting its head, the bird works to reach the seed buried between the scales. Using its tongue against grooves on the inside of its bill, it pulls out the seed, cracks the dry husk and swallows the kernel. This happens in a lot less time than it takes to describe it—a crossbill can extract and eat more than 20 seeds per minute, which means better than one every three seconds!
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
Watering Made Easy
Keep houseplants satisfied with systems that do the work for you.
Voice of the Northwest
A haunting call and fancy feathers make this thrush stand out.
Seasonal Snacking
Watch birds change their eating habits as colder weather rolls in.
Houseplant Rescue
Help is here! The Birds & Blooms garden pro offers solutions to the most common indoor plant problems.
Bonding Through Birds
Kindness spreads through this Kentucky nursing facility, but it starts with feathered friends at a window.
Junco family tree
Meet the many variations of this beloved snowbird and popular wintertime visitor.
The Ultimate NOMADS
RANDOM MIGRATIONS ARE JUST ONE CROSSBILL QUIRK LEARN MORE FUN ODDITIES OF THESE WANDERING SPECIES.
MOTH TALES
Butterflies may get all the glory, but these reader photos prove that moths are just as beautiful.
Midnight Blooms
Dark petals add mystery all year, not just on Halloween.
Create a Fall Focal Point
Add a creative highlight to any outdoor area with these container garden ideas.
Liz “Snorkel” Thomas HIKING ICON
Thomas has thru-hiked more than 20 long trails, including the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide and Appalachian Trails (the Triple Crown). On top of that, she set a fastest known time on the AT for an unsupported woman and has completed dozens of urban thru-hikes as well. This issue, she joins Backpacker as a contributing editor. Here’s some of Thomas’s best advice and insight fed by more than 20,000 trail miles.
Fire and Ice
Find alpine bliss halfway through this snowshoe beneath an active volcano on Artist Point Trail in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.
How a Philanthropic Darling Became Political Scandal
A Canadian development charity courted celebrities, enlisted legions of schoolchildren to raise funds, and built a new, commerce-fueled model of philanthropy. Then a Covid relief deal got people asking who was benefiting most
Handloading Harder, Denser Shot
The Evolution of Tungsten Shot
Cannabis Not to Blame For Workplace Injuries
In the recent United States election cycle, we saw even more states adopt cannabis as a legally accepted recreational substance. See our article and infographic on Page 16.
THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY
The U.S. could adopt a few easy reforms—and a few tough ones—to take the drama out of its democracy
CANADA'S FORGOTTEN CAPITAL
Beneath the streets of Old Montreal, the rubble of a short-lived Parliament building offers a glimpse into a young country’s growing pains
KITTYHAWK JUNGLE RESCUE
P-40 GETS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE
Yvan Cournoyer
For this one special occasion we accepted interview questions from our readers for our cover model Yvan from Canada. We wanted to also take this chance to wish all our readers good health and safety.
UBER TO REQUIRE THAT PASSENGERS PROVIDE FACE-MASK SELFIES
Mask slackers will now have to provide photographic proof they’re wearing a face covering before boarding an Uber.