Two-barred Crossbill

Two-barred Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) is a compact conifer finch with crossed bill tips and two bold white wing bars; males are red and females yellow-green. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in northern North American and Palearctic conifer forests, using its specialised bill to extract seeds from cones and moving nomadically or irruptively when local cone supplies decline. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).