Today was a good day at the Lonesome to see a couple of less commonly seen birds. First was a pair of Purple Finches. They came in to the Black Oil Sunflower feeder. More commonly we see the similar House Finches and Cassin's Finch, possibly the most of the later.
The other bird of note today was a Red Crossbill. It showed up in the Ponderosa Pines around the cabins. Although they pass through almost any time of year in our mountain bowl, they only occasionally drop down to the feeders. Here's eNature's link for more info and their photo of the Red Crossbill:
There are several species of Crossbills around the world. They are still considered finches, but, as you can see they really do have crossed bills! This is an adaptation to pry apart the scales on pines and other cone-bearing trees. Then they pluck the seeds out with their very able tongues! Looks kind of parrot-like, eh?
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