Tuesday, February 9

crossbill Red




 
red crossbill male (Loxia curvirostra)

A crossbill's odd bill shape helps it get into tightly closed cones. A bird's biting muscles are stronger than the muscles used to open the bill, so the Red Crossbill places the tips of its slightly open bill under a cone scale and bites down. The crossed tips of the bill push the scale up, exposing the seed inside.
 (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website)

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