A Forest visitor to my yard. He brought his girlfriend, but she didn’t want to be in the photo with him. lol
View much larger on a dark background here

“PHOTO INFORMATION”

Taken on July 16/11 at 1:51 pm on south east Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada.
Camera, Canon 7D
Lens, Canon EF 100-400 L IS USM lens.
Used lens IS while leaning out home window to take the photo.
Taken at 1/800’s at f/5.6, 400 mm, man white bal, iso 800.
Cropped a little off the left side and bottom to bring the bird in a little closer for viewing. Sharpened via lab mode, lightness channel, unsharp mask.

“ABOUT RED CROSSBILLS”

Red Crossbills are a stocky finch that inhabit mature coniferous forests where it is dependent on the seed cones for its main source of food. Conifer seeds, especially Hemlock, Douglas -fir, Spruce and Pine make up a Red Crossbill’s diet. Its crossed bill is suited to access the seeds from the tightly closed cones. The crossed tips of the bill push the scale up, exposing the seed inside.

The Red Crossbill is a year-round resident from southern Alaska to Newfoundland, through southern Canada, and south to the northern Great Lakes area. Also from the Pacific states over to the Rocky Mountains, south into parts of Mexico. It wanders irregularly during the nonbreeding season. Red-Crossbills are highly nomadic in response to changes in conifer seed production.

“Measurements”
Length, 14-20cm ( 5.5-7.9 in)
Wingspan, 25-27 cm (9.8-10.6 in)

Males are deep brick red to reddish yellow, or greenish. Wing feathers are blackish brown, without wing bars. Tail blackish brown.

Females are uniformly olive or grayish, with greenish or green yellow chest and rump. Wing feathers brown, without wing bars. Tail blackish brown.

Immature Juveniles have heavy dark streaks on whitish chest. Back gray-brown tinged with pale green or brown. Rump yellowish with dark streaks. Thin buggy wing bars. Immature like adult female, but some males may be reddish or mixed red and yellow.