20120513 Crossbill 18568

Wow Were do you live I have never even seen a crossbill nice photo!

Thanks shoveler. I live in central Montana. This picture was taken at a friend's house. At our place we don't have bird feeders, but still have a number of crossbills. Of the eight years we've lived here, they have only been present in significant numbers in 3 years, and current numbers seem to be the most we've ever seen. They moved in last fall and stuck around all winter. They are really unique birds, and I enjoy watching them harvest seeds from pine cones. Not only is the odd bill a pretty handy tool, these guys really know how to use their feet to manipulate the pine cones into position and to brace against when extracting seeds.