# Red crossbill (*Loxia curvirostra*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-crossbill  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) is a small bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, placed in the order Passeriformes and the family Fringillidae. Adults have a body mass of 38.29 g, with values up to 41.25 g reported, and a wingspan of 29 cm. It is a granivore and herbivore of forest habitat with a perching lifestyle, and it is partially migratory across a geographic range of 22,670,000 km². Clutches hold 3.4 eggs, with 1.75 clutches per year, eggs are incubated for 13 days, and the species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 38.3 g – 41.3 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 29 cm |
| Lifespan | 8 years |
| Diet | Granivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 16.1 years |
| Main food | seeds |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 13 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.4 – 3.5 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.75 |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Partial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Fringillidae
- genus: Loxia
- species: *Loxia curvirostra* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Crucirostra vulgaris*, *Crucirostra vulgaris*, *Loxia albiventris*, *Loxia curvirostra bangsi*, *Loxia curvirostra przewalskii*, *Loxia curvirostra reai*, *Loxia curvirostra rubrifasciata*, *Loxia curvirostra turkestanensis*, *Loxia curvirostra vividior*, *Loxia vulgaris*, *Loxia vulgaris*, *Loxorynchus cruvirostra*, *Loxorynchus curvirostra*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the red crossbill?

The red crossbill is a small bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Fringillidae in the order Passeriformes.

### How heavy is a red crossbill?

An adult Red crossbill has a body mass of 38.29 g, with values up to 41.25 g reported. Its wingspan is 29 cm.

### What does the red crossbill eat?

The red crossbill is a granivore, placing it at the herbivore trophic level.

### What habitat does the red crossbill live in?

The red crossbill lives in forest habitat and has a perching lifestyle.

### Is the red crossbill endangered?

No. The red crossbill is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a red crossbill live?

The red crossbill has a lifespan of 8 years, with values up to 16.08 years reported.

### How many eggs does the red crossbill lay?

The red crossbill lays 3.4 eggs per clutch, with up to 3.5 reported, and has 1.75 clutches per year. Incubation lasts 13 days.

### Who named the red crossbill?

The red crossbill was named Loxia curvirostra by Linnaeus, 1758.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-crossbill