Our bird feeder gets the usual visitors...
chickadees, sparrows,
pine siskins, goldfinches.
The latest visitors to stop by on their way north have specialized beaks. At first glance you may think there is something wrong with them. 
They are Red Crossbills, although the female is more yellow. Their odd-shaped bills are used to pry open pine cones to get at the seeds. They travel in flocks and are pretty greedy. It only took them a day to eat half the seeds in the feeder.
Despite their fierce appearance they don't seem aggressive. At least they share better than the pine siskins. But they are really taking advantage of the free food to fuel up for the rest of their trip.
12 comments:
Oh they're lovely. I can't say I've ever seen them or even heard of them before. Great captures.
I like your work a lot.
Leenie, these shots are fabulous! So close and clear. And, interesting info about the crossbill....I'd not heard of that before.
What wonderful birds.......
That was fun to see. I have never seen a crossbill before!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
What great shots, especially the inflight shot. Wow. Amazing.
What interesting little beauties! Never heard of them.
Thanks for popping by my blog!
Those beaks are something - whoa! :)
Lovely bird parade.
How did you catch that shot with the wings moving. I'd love to know. It would help me to photography my topsy-turvy children.
Wow ! what great photos
Now that is a very interesting bird beak. I'm not sure if we'll get those here in Wisconsin, but if I see one, I'll be taking it's picture too! What a great way to learn about new bird species.
WONDERFULLY colorful birds you've captured and shared. Thanks so much.
Hugs and blessings,
Post a Comment