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Crossbills are robust finches whose population goes rapidly up and down according to how much food is available in the form of pine cones. In a good cropping year, numbers are enhanced by wanderers from the continent.
Considering that this finch is one of our larger ones, and that the male is a bright orange-red and the female yellow-green, they are surprisingly difficult to see in the forest, as much time is spent high in the canopy. Flocks can frequently be seen flying over at moderate heights, but unless you are familiar with their call, they will go unnoticed. One way of improving your chances is to have a garden pond with a shelving end and small branches to encourage perching that will bring in flocks to drink.
The name Crossbill is a literal description. The upper and lower mandible cross at the tip, an adaptation for removing conifer seeds from cones, at which they are the experts. As this is almost their only food source, they are dependent on mature conifers and good crops of cones.
They are present all year, but the fluctuating population and the difficulty in seeing them means they are often overlooked.
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