Cassia Crossbill
Cassia Crossbill
Loxia sinesciuris
A simple vista
Formerly considered a localized form of Red Crossbill, the Cassia Crossbill was officially recognized as a full species in 2017. It lives only in lodgepole pine forests of the South Hills and Albion Mountains in Cassia County, southern Idaho. These two mountain ranges are unusual in having no red squirrels, which feed heavily on pine cones elsewhere. As a result, the lodgepole pines in these mountains have abundant cones, and the Cassia Crossbills are specially adapted to feed on the seeds from those cones. (The species name of this crossbill, sinesciurus, means "without squirrels.")
Todo el texto de la guía de aves y los mapas de distribución fueron adaptados de Lives of North American Birds de Kenn Kaufman© 1996, utilizado con permiso de Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Reservados todos los derechos.
Categoría
Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Hábitat
Forests and Woodlands
Población
5.800
Rango e identificación
Mapa de migración y distribución
Most crossbills are nomadic and wander long distances, but the Cassia Crossbill stays in the same limited range year-round, making only minor local movements.
Descripción
Tamaño
About the size of a Robin, About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Black, Brown, Green, Olive, Red, Yellow
Forma de alas
Pointed, Rounded, Short
Forma de cola
Notched
Cantos y llamadas
Tipo de canto
Chatter, Chirp/Chip, Twitter
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Comportamiento
Comportamiento alimentario
Like other crossbills, usually forages in flocks. Clambers about over the cones of lodgepole pines, using its odd crossed bill tip to pry the cone scales apart to get at the seeds inside.
Dieta
Feeds mainly on the seeds of lodgepole pine.
Nidificación
Unlike other crossbills, which may nest at almost any season, Cassia Crossbills are consistent in their timing. They usually begin building their open cup-shaped nests in late March or early April, and the breeding season ends by late July.
Vulnerabilidad
Estado de conservación
Common in its limited range, with an estimated population of about 6,000, but vulnerable just because its total distribution is so small. The species could be wiped out by fires or other factors in the two mountain ranges where it lives.
