Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various finches of the genus Loxia, having curved mandibles with narrow tips that cross when the bill is closed.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A bird in which each mandible of the bill is laterally deflected, so that the tips of the two mandibles cross each other when the beak is closed. The crossbills constitute the genus Loxia (or Curvirostra) of the family Fringillidæ, and present a case unique among birds. There are several species, the best-known being the common red crossbill of Europe and America (Loxia curvirostra), the parrot-crossbill of Europe (L. pityopsittaca), and the white-winged crossbill (Latin leucoptera). See
Loxia . Also calledcrossbeak .
Wiktionary
- n. Any of various finches of the genus Loxia, whose bill crosses over at the tips; they are specialist feeders on conifer cones.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. See in the Vocabulary.
- (Law) A bill brought by a defendant, in an equity or chancery suit, against the plaintiff, respecting the matter in question in that suit.
- n. (Zoöl.) A bird of the genus Loxia, allied to the finches. Their mandibles are strongly curved and cross each other; the crossbeak.
WordNet 3.0
- n. finch with a bill whose tips cross when closed
Etymologies
- cross + bill (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The "cardinal grosbeak" (_Pitylus cardinalis_) with his bright scarlet wings; the blue jay, noisy and chattering; the rarer "crossbill" (_Loxia_) with its deep crimson colour; and many others, equally bright and beautiful, enlivened the woods, either with their voice or their gaudy plumage.”
“There is a bird called the crossbill that makes its nest in the pine.”
“crossbill" with its deep crimson colour; and many others, equally bright and beautiful, enlivened the woods, either with their voice or their gaudy plumage.”
“According to Esther del Val, from the National History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and her team, the red carotenoids that give the common crossbill Loxia curvirostra its red coloration are produced in the liver, not the skin, as previously thought.”
“Saw a crossbill at the sunflower feeder this morning.”
“The last white-winged crossbill I saw there was in the process of being eaten by a peregrine a couple years ago and for some reason I haven't seen any since.”
“Red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), known primarily from high-latitude coniferous forests, reaches its southernmost extent in the Old World in the mountains of the Central Cordillera (the populations in Central America, notably Nicaragua, are further south).”
“A total of 227 bird species have been recorded (including species characteristic of all boreal forest habitats) which include great grey owl Strix nebulosa and snowy owl Nyctea scandiaca, willow ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus, redpoll Acanthis spp., crossbill Lorix spp. and borealchickadee Parus hudsonicus.”
“Best guess compiled from three bird books seems to be an immature white-winged crossbill, not commonly a feeder bird.”
“Then she pointed to a picture of a red crossbill in the bird book she held open.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘crossbill’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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More Bird Wirds: North America
Birds endemic to the United States and/or North America.
toucan, peacock, weaver, bullfinch, redpoll, siskin, crossbill, finch, rosy-finch, oriole, cowbird, blackbird and 213 more...
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Cross My Heart
words and phrases containing cross
crosswise, crisscross, crosscut, across, crossword, crossbreed, cross-pollinate, double cross, crossroads, cross off, crosstown, sign of the cross and 93 more...
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disloxic's list
disloxic -person who cant spell disloxic
Tweets
Looking for tweets for crossbill.
fbharjo genus = loxia Mar 6, 2009