Two-barred Crossbill

The two-barred crossbill, also called the white-winged crossbill, is a compact finch measuring 14.5–17 centimetres and weighing twenty-five to forty grams. It has short legs, a forked tail and the crossed bill characteristic of its genus. Two bold white wing-bars are its clearest field mark. Males are largely raspberry-red above with darker scapulars, whereas females replace the red with greenish-yellow tones. Compared with several other Palearctic crossbills, it has a smaller head and bill. (Wikipedia, general species account)

The species breeds in coniferous forests across northern North America and the Palearctic. Two subspecies are recognised: the Eurasian Loxia leucoptera bifasciata extends from northern Europe through eastern Siberia to northeastern China, while the nominate form occurs in Alaska, Canada and the northern United States. Johann Friedrich Gmelin formally described the species in 1789 from material associated with Hudson Bay and New York. The scientific epithet leucoptera derives from Greek words meaning white-winged, matching the bird's conspicuous paired wing-bars. (Wikipedia, general species account)