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The Scottish Crossbill
Loxia Scotica

Scottish Crossbills are to be found in the Highlands of Scotland, in particular Deeside, Strathspey, Moray, Ross-shire and the Great Glen, but due to the difficulty of identification the exact areas remain difficult to establish. The wild population is recorded at between 1500 and 2000 individuals, but this is noted as ‘best guess’. This difficulty has resulted in global conservation concern for their future Forests of Pine, Larch and Spruce are a major resource locally and provide excellent Crossbill habitat.


Decorative bar		 crossbills watercolour male and female
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crossbill picture
The Scottish Crossbill, Loxia Scotica, is intermediate in size ( approximately 16.5cm long ) between the Common and Parrot Crossbill. Males have red/orange plumage with dark brown wings and tail. Females are yellow/green with wings and tail as cock birds. Young birds are typical of all crossbills in being heavily streaked in nest feather. Their beaks are adapted to deal with the cones of native Scots Pine. Other characteristics are flattish crown, thick neck and overall “top heavy” look.
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In the wild, nesting takes place in Scots Pine trees, approximately 15 metres up. Nests are made of a pine twig base completed using lichen, moss, grasses and bark. Clutch sizes average four eggs and are normally laid from February to April, but young birds can be seen well into August. In the wild predation from Red Squirrels, Pine Martens and Crows can be a problem and accounts for many losses. They share their habitat with Crested Tit, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Chaffinch and Capercaillie. crossbill picture
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The Scottish British Bird & Mule Club. The Club was founded in 1902 and a book was published in November 2001, by the President of the SBB&MC, recording the history of the SBB&MC and also the Bird Fancy in general in Scotland from 1902 to the present day. 80 pages long with 4 full colour pages and over 80 black & white photographs and drawings, the book is available from the Secretary of the SBB&MC, Tom McCash, 4 Waterside Cottages, Hunting Tower, Perth, PH1 3JT, Tel. 01738 583587. The cost is £10 plus postage of £1. Cheques to be made payable to the SBB&MC. Membership £5 Single, £8 Joint, Juniors & Senior Citizens, £1.
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THE RSBP REPORT THAT ALL THREE SPECIES OF EUROPEAN CROSSBILL HAVE NOW BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THEIR RESERVE AT ABERNETHY. THIS HAS IMPLICATION OF POTENTIAL CROSSBREEDING (PARDON THE PUN) BETWEEN THE COMMON, PARROT AND SCOTTISH CROSSBILL SPECIES. THIS COULD BE A PROBLEM FOR THE RARE SCOTTISH TYPE.