Endangered Species: Red Crossbill

Endangered Species: Red Crossbill

A Christiansburg Elementary Project
Submitted by Mallory
Christiansburg Elementary School, Christiansburg, U.S.A.

Photography courtesy of Virginia's Endangered Species

Original artwork by Mallory

Why Study This Topic?	What Was Already Known	Search for Information	Description of Plant or Animal	Habitat Requirements
Adaptations	Reasons for Endangerment	Restoration Actions	What Was Learned	Conclusions from Research

Why Study This Topic?

My endangered animal is the Red Crossbill. The reason I chose this species is because I had never heard of it before I got assigned to it. I wanted to find out its nesting spots, migration, its life span, and its eating habits. The Red Crossbill also sounded interesting to me.

What Was Already Known

I didn't know a thing about the Red Crossbill before I began this research paper, except that it was endangered in Virginia and only in winter did it come to Virginia.

Search for Information

I searched in these books: Virginia's Endangered Species, A Field Guide to the Birds, World Book Encyclopedia , and Encyclopedia of Endangered Species.

Description

The Red Crossbill is 13-16 centimeters in length. Its scientific name is "Loxia curvirostria". The male is dull red; the female is dull olive-gray. The Red Crossbill's song is "jip, jip, jip".

Habitat Requirements

&nbspThe Red Crossbill's habitat is in conifers, including spruce, fir, hemlock trees. Its range is in the conifer forests of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, it is ranges from mountains to Nicaragua. In the East, it ranges locally to the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Its movements are hard to track in winter. It eats conifer seeds. The Red Crossbill's head is heavy, with a light, short-feathered tail.

Adaptations

The Red Crossbill is most likely to be seen flying in loose loud flocks. The sound that the Red Crossbill makes when it comes out of Evergreen trees often betrays it being there. It is the size of an house sparrow, but it acts like a parrot when it eats. The Red Crossbill only comes to Virginia in the winter.

Reasons for Endangerment

The endangerment of the Red Crossbill is because of the loss of high altitude conifers which provide breeding and foraging grounds. Its breeding grounds are in the Alleghany Mountains, as far south as North and South Carolina.

Restoration Actions

The Red Crossbill is protected by the Magratory Bird Treaty Act. The The Virginia Natural Heritage Program ranks the Red Crossbill as G5\S1, because of its extremly rare status in Virginia. A thing that I could do to prevent it from being endangered is to encourage people to stop killing this kind of species of bird for the sport of it.

What Was Learned

I learned about the Red Crossbill and why it's endangered, what its habitat is, it's description, it's adaptations, and steps taken to restore it in Virginia.

Conclusions From Research

I think that this bird should be one of the most specially concerned birds to people in Virginia. I enjoyed doing this animal because the books that I researched were interesting. I think people should just look at this bird, not kill it, but research it! I am aware of how rare this bird is, and more people need to become aware of its endangerment. Thank you for reading my research on the Red Crossbill.

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Christiansburg Elementary

Last updated on March 12, 1997