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Scottish Crossbill Loxia scotica Scientific name definitions

Peter Clement and Eduardo de Juana
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated June 26, 2013

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

16–17 cm; 36–49 g. Medium-large, short-legged and short-tailed finch with distinctive crossed mandibles; all pluma­ges extremely similar to corresponding ones of L. curvirostra and L. pytyopsittacus. Male has forehead to crown, nape and upperparts bright brick-red (with brown feather centres when worn), scapulars browner, washed variably orange-red to brick-red, rump bright reddish-pink, uppertail-coverts brown, fringed reddish-brown; tail dark brown or blackish, finely edged reddish-brown; upperwings blackish or blackish-brown, coverts and flight-feathers finely edged reddish-brown; lores dusky, eyestripe and rear of ear-coverts grey to grey-brown, rest of face like crown; throat and underparts almost entirely red or orange-red, tinged greyish on flanks; undertail-coverts whitish, tipped browner and washed pinkish; iris dark brown or black; bill grey to greyish-horn, paler yellowish cutting edges; legs brown or dark brown. Differs from L. curvirostra in slightly larger size, larger head (appearing neckless) with bill on average larger, deeper and more blunt-shaped, and slightly longer wing and tail; probably not always separable in field from L. pytyopsittacus, which is extremely similar in size, shape and plumage, apart from by vocal features (including sonagrams). Female has olive-green head and upperparts, mottled or indistinctly streaked darker on crown, face olive-green or tinged greyer, nape paler or lighter green than crown; mantle and back with dusky feather bases, scapulars slightly darker olive-green, rump pale olive or yellowish-green, uppertail-coverts the same and with dark olive centres; tail and wing as on male, but finely edged dull olive-green; throat and underparts olive-yellow, sometimes with green or grey feather bases on side of breast and flanks, belly to undertail-coverts white or whitish with dark central shaft streaks; bare parts much as for male. Juvenile has forehead to nape and upperparts pale green or olive-green, streaked darker, mantle and scapulars slightly darker, olive-green (male) or brown (female), rump yellowish or yellowish-green, streaked darker (or browner on male), uppertail-coverts dark brown, fringed olive, tail and wing as adult female but all coverts tipped buff, edges and tips of tertials buffish or yellowish-buff, dull buffish-yellow below, heavily (except lower flanks and belly) streaked blackish-brown; first-winter and first-summer males variably greenish-yellow to orange-red, retains juvenile wing and tail and also some streaks on underparts, these streaks usually lost by first summer; first-winter and first-summer females like adult female, but with buff tips of wing-coverts and streaked upperparts and underparts; adult male plumage acquired in late second winter or second summer.

Systematics History

Forms a species group with L. curvirostra and L. pytyopsittacus, and all have sometimes been considered conspecific. Present species almost identical to L. curvirostra in wing, tail, bill and tarsus measurements, and overlaps in wing and bill measurements with L. pytyopsittacus, but intermediate in bill shape (a feeding adaptation). Feeding behaviour (and excitement call) apparently sufficient to isolate it partially from L. curvirostra, with no hybridization known where ranges overlap; but hybridizes with L. pytyopsittacus, and genetic evidence reveals limited differences between all three forms in Europe, indicating incomplete reproductive isolation. Captive and wild birds mate assortatively mainly on basis of bill size and flight and excitement calls, but extent of hybridization in wild not fully known; further research required, especially into resource polymorphism in Loxia as an explanation of the many similar cases within L. curvirostra where subspecies vary somewhat in bill size and vocalizations (latter perhaps as a function of former, or simply from vocal copying) but which remain capable of interbreeding when cone-crop failures force irruptions (under this scenario even L. pytyopsittacus would be treated as a subspecies). Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

N & NE Scotland.

Habitat

Breeds in lowland forests and stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), including open mature plantations and ancient relict forest trees. In winter mainly in larches (Larix) and in established plantations of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and well-spaced pine woodland with heather (Calluna) understorey.

Movement

Resident and locally dispersive. In non-breeding season moves short distances (less than 20 km) within Scottish Highlands to find new feeding areas, returning to nesting area in Feb–Mar. Very rare outside restricted breeding range; non-irruptive as principal food source, Scots pine, has regular annual cone crop.

Diet and Foraging

Mostly seeds of Scots pine (bill shape intermediate between those of L. curvirostra and L. pytyopsittacus, apparently better adapted for feeding on cones of this species); when these unavailable, takes seeds, blossom, buds and shoots of larch (Larix), spruce (Picea), fir (Abies), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) and beech (Fagus). Possibly also small invertebrates, including flies (Diptera). Nestling diet regurgitated pine seeds and possibly some insect larvae. Forages in pine trees, usually towards crown in outermost branches; occasionally on ground. Clings to cones, also twists cone from branch and takes to separate perch for opening; extracts seeds in same manner as L. curvirostra, by inserting bill tips between scales of cone and turning bill, using upper mandible or tongue to retrieve seed. Searches branches, lichens and bark of trees for invertebrates. Makes frequent visits to water, including at puddles, ditches and peat-runnels, to drink. In pairs and in small flocks of up to 20 individuals; may feed in close association with, but not known to join, flocks of L. curvirostra, which occasionally occur within range on passage.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Call and song very similar to those of L. curvirostra, but with slight variation, both higher and lower, in tone and pitch. Song by male from high perch (frequently uses songposts) and in flight, a series of short phrases, "tiup rrreee priooo", often includes several "chip" notes developed into short melody of repeated phrases, may also be preceded by short rattling "schweerr schweerr"; also soft or subdued subsong by both sexes, "tip-tip-tip-toohee-toohee-tip-tip-too-hee-quik-quik", sometimes interspersed with slightly louder "choop" or "toop" notes. Most frequent call a sharp and loud "jip jip", variably as "chip" or "dyip" with variable emphasis, but especially louder when excited, alarmed or about to take flight; also a deeper "toop" or "choop" similar to that of L. curvirostra but lower-pitched; contact note between feeding birds a soft or whispered "tip"; excitement calls similar to those of both L. curvirostra and L. pytyopsittacus, but sonagrams reveal differences in structure.

Breeding

Season late Jan/Feb–Jun; one or two broods, depending on availability of food. Monogamous, rarely polygamous; pair-bond endures for length of brood (not proven to last for second broods). Solitary or loosely colonial. Territory used for courtship, defence of nest and female, also some feeding, but poorly understood and boundaries apparently not well defined; groups of associated nesting males may also defend small foraging areas. Pair formation takes place within wintering flocks. Displaying birds face each other on perch, wings held away from sides, bills touch and link together, heads swaying from side to side or back and forth; other displays include male in rapid pursuit of female through treetops, male approaching female in moth-like circular flight with rapid, shallow, flicking wingbeats, also female soliciting from male in crouched position, giving "chittering" call, with tail raised and wings slightly drooped and shivering; mate-guarding by male (while female feeding) and courtship feeding from start of pair formation through to incubation stage. Nest built by female, occasionally accompanied or helped by male, a large bulky cup of twigs (mostly pine, larch or birch), heather, grass, plant fibres, bark strips, moss, lichens, animal hair, leaves and feathers, placed 6–8 m above ground in upper level of old Scots pine, usually high in crown or at end of spreading branch, very occasionally in spruce, larch or Douglas-fir, occasionally close to trunk. Clutch 3–4 eggs, creamy to pale bluish or greenish-white with red or blackish-red spots and scrawls; incubation by female, period 13–15 days; chicks fed and cared for by both parents, nestling period 17–25 days; young fed by adults (including adults other than parents) for up to 8 weeks after fledging and until mandibles fully crossed. Success rate in single study fairly high: of 152 eggs in 41 nests, 75·6% hatched and 46·6% of young fledged young, average of 1·7 young per nest; main predator Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). Probably first breeds in first year, but failure rate high among first-time breeders, especially those in immature plumage.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern

Not globally threatened External link . Restricted range species: present in Caledonian Pine Forest Secondary Area. Uncommon and local; more or less confined to E Highlands, with important core areas of population in Deeside, Strathspey and NW of the Great Glen. Total breeding population estimated in 1970s at c. 1500 adults (a figure which may have included some peripheral L. curvirostra) and in 1980s put at 300–400 pairs; more recent estimate of 300–1300 pairs based on recalculation of survey data from 1975; a systematic survey in 2008 using diagnostic excitement calls for species identification estimated a global population of c. 13,600 post-juvenile individuals (1). Population considered to have grown during 20th century as a result of increase in extent of large-scale conifer plantations, but further detailed survey required in order to determine an accurate population estimate. Over the last 5000 years, suitable semi-natural habitat has declined from c. 15,000 km2 to fragments totalling 160 km2; amount of plantation woodland, however, has increased substantially during 20th century.

Distribution of the Scottish Crossbill - Range Map
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Distribution of the Scottish Crossbill

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Clement, P. and E. de Juana (2020). Scottish Crossbill (Loxia scotica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.scocro1.01
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