A red bird with a crossed bill is standing on a road in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. This is a Red Crossbill. Red Crossbills are medium-sized, full-bodied finches with a distinctive crisscrossed bill, designed to break into unopened cones. Males are a deep reddish orange overall, with darker brownish wings. Females are mostly yellowish with dark, unmarked wings. You often see them on roadways consuming small bits of gravel from the road. This “gritting” behavior is said to aid in the digestion of their seed-based diet. The grit helps to mechanically grind hard food items like seeds and nuts.
For the Alt #BirdOfTheDay Theme #Finches, I submit this Red Crossbill, gritting on a road. wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-b...
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