A type of finch with a distinctive beak where the mandibles cross over each other, specialized for extracting seeds from pine cones.
Compound from 'cross' + 'bill,' referring to the distinctive crossed beak shape. Scientific name is Loxia, from Greek meaning 'slanting.'
Crossbills are so specialized for pine seeds that they show different bill sizes in different regions—each population evolves bigger or smaller beaks depending on which pine cones are available!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.