Crossbills come in various shapes and sizes, but all are united by their passion for cone seeds – and also for chewing wood, parrot-fashion. ANDY JOHNSON talks to some of the UK’s foremost crossbill breeder/exhibitors to find out more
ALTHOUGH the crossbill is not a common bird in aviculture, there are still a healthy number of fanciers that choose to keep the species in their collections. One of the attractions may be the various species available to the breeder, with common (Loxia curvirostra), parrot (L. pytyopsittacus), Scottish (L. scotica) and two-barred (L. leucoptera) readily seen in the UK. All these can easily interbreed if given the opportunity. A slightly rarer find in collections in the UK is the Himalayan crossbill (L. c. himalayensis).
Crossbills are approximately 16-18cm long and get their name from the distinctive crossing of the upper and lower mandibles of their beaks. As fairly long-lived finches they will live and breed for up to six years quite regularly.
I began my study of these fascinating birds with knowledge shared by the experienced crossbill fancier Neville Jones, who currently boasts a collection of commons, parrots, Scottish and two-bar.
Neville explains: “l have four pairs each of all the species, so l can make up unrelated pairs. Most are in flights, but the commons are in 4ft x 2ft x 2ft wire cages and they breed in those quite happily. l only take two rounds off the birds, though the commons would do five if I left the nests in and kept feeding them.”
Neville’s success with common crossbills in 4ft flight cages demonstrates another reason crossbills are attractive additions to a fancier’s collection: their ability to breed in cages rather than aviaries makes them more accessible. A great deal of care must be taken with regards to crossbill housing, since these birds are avid chewers and can quickly destroy timber cages and aviaries. Christopher Jones – another crossbill fancier who keeps commons – has a great way to protect his aviaries, as he clads the insides with plastic which is too strong for the birds to chew through.
He tells me: “I have some of last year’s chicks in my big shed and they have chewed through their wooden cages, but in the outside flights I have plastic cladding and these have not been chewed at all.”
Finches with character
Crossbills appeal to both Neville and Christopher for several reasons, but one of their most endearing features is their personality. “The crossbills are one of the nicest birds to breed in captivity,” says Neville. “They get on with other birds, are not at all flighty and are very inquisitive when you walk into the birdroom. What’s more, they are themselves easy to feed and also to get to feed and rear their young.”
Christopher adds: “I keep crossbills because they are easy breeders and easy to keep! But the main reason is that they are characters – with a personality much like parrots.”
Crossbills are easily housed in a variety of quarters. As well as the 4ft flight cages mentioned above, aviaries are very common. Champion crossbill breeder Francis Brankin keeps both two-bar and Himalayan crossbills and has a number of different sizes of accommodation for his birds. He says: “My aviaries vary in size. Two are 12ft x 4ft x 6ft 6in high, whereas my other six aviaries are around 4ft deep, 3ft wide and 6ft 6in high. The birds love to chew willow branches and pine cones and if these are supplied they will not chew the aviary woodwork so much. The aviaries for the parrots are lined, with wire which stops the chewing of the aviary, but that is not a problem with the two-bars or the Himalayans.”
Feeding
At the beginning of this piece, I made reference to the extraordinary shape of the crossbill’s beak. Evolution has produced this strange design which is perfectly shaped to extract the seeds from the cones of pine and other tree species. Crossbills expertly insert their beaks into the gaps between a cone’s scales, before eagerly extracting and eating the seeds. The most favoured cones are those of the larch, spruce and Scots pine, but they will take whichever is freely available. Many fanciers will retrieve branches with closed cones still attached for their birds, while others will collect fallen cones for them.
Mixes designed specifically for crossbills are sold by a number of seed merchants. Alternatively, some fanciers choose a British finch mix enhanced with the addition of pine nuts and larch seed, which can form a solid staple diet. Francis says: “My birds are fed Blattner crossbill mix and Haith’s bullfinch mix in equal parts for the two-bars and Himalayan. I also give British finch mix with perilla and rowan berries. For soak seed I use Haith’s greenfinch mix with extra hemp. I also feed mini mealworms and, if I’m colour feeding, I include Carophyll Red in the drinking water too.”
Even though the Himalayan and two-bars aren’t as avid chewers as his parrot crossbills, Francis has a neat trick to reduce any potential damage that might be done. “The Himalayan and two-bars do not do anything like the damage the parrots do,” he explains. “I do give them fine willow twigs, which they love to chew, while I give thicker willow branches to my parrot crossbills. These twigs keep the birds happy and it also keeps their beaks in good order. They love larch cones as well.”
To help the birds into breeding condition, a standard British finch conditioning seed can be offered and supplemented with a softfood mix that contains the usual ingredients of eggfood, broccoli, kale, carrot, peas, germination seed, etc. Francis again: “My eggfood consists of Deli Nature dry eggfood, to which I add hard-boiled egg, peas, sweetcorn and pinkies. I also give carrot and broccoli and I provide them with plenty of pine branches which they love to chew.”
Chris Jones feeds his crossbills parrot mix every day and they also have access to fresh pine cones on the branches placed in the bird’s aviaries. During the breeding season, Chris also feeds pine nuts, petits pois and plenty of carrots. Carophyll Red is added to their water each day to develop the lovely red hue the feathers can take on.
● In the second part of his article, Andy discusses the breeding of the various crossbill species.
Thanks to Neville Jones, Christopher Jones and Francis Brankin for their help with this article.
Andy Johnson writes a monthly Border Bulletin in Cage & Aviary Birds and has kept native finches for some years.
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