crossbill
noun
cross·bill ˈkrȯs-ˌbil 
: any of a genus (Loxia of the family Fringillidae) of finches with curved mandibles that cross each other
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Four great shearwaters, a manx shearwater, and two royal terns at Gooseberry Neck in Westport, and a single red crossbill in the Freetown State Forest in Freetown. 
BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 The people who lived here created sounds that reflected their environment and circumstances, not unlike the red crossbill’s developing songs to deal with mountain winds. Paul Kvinta, Outside Online, 23 Mar. 2022 There is the Cassia crossbill, a finch with a twisty beak found in a single county in Idaho. New York Times, 3 Mar. 2022 Hampshire County: Some notable sightings were a Connecticut warbler in Northampton, a green heron, a Tennessee warbler and a dickcissel in Hadley, and a brant and a white-winged crossbill at the Quabbin headquarters in Belchertown. BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2021 According to scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a single crossbill can eat 3,000 spruce seeds in a day. Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Apr. 2021 Being seen are representatives from eight finch species: pine siskin, common redpoll, hoary redpoll, purple finch, pine grosbeak, evening grosbeak, red crossbill, and white-winged crossbill, plus red-breasted nuthatch. Star Tribune, 22 Dec. 2020 Surprises along the way might including sightings of a rare winter visitor, the red crossbill, as well as animal tracks in the snow, which Iwanicki will identify. Sheryl Devore, chicagotribune.com, 21 Dec. 2020 There were two swamp sparrows at Post Farm Marsh in Lenox, a red crossbill at Steepletop Reserve in New Marlborough, 105 red-winged blackbirds at Ashley Falls in Sheffield. BostonGlobe.com, 9 Feb. 2020 See More
BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 The people who lived here created sounds that reflected their environment and circumstances, not unlike the red crossbill’s developing songs to deal with mountain winds. Paul Kvinta, Outside Online, 23 Mar. 2022 There is the Cassia crossbill, a finch with a twisty beak found in a single county in Idaho. New York Times, 3 Mar. 2022 Hampshire County: Some notable sightings were a Connecticut warbler in Northampton, a green heron, a Tennessee warbler and a dickcissel in Hadley, and a brant and a white-winged crossbill at the Quabbin headquarters in Belchertown. BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2021 According to scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a single crossbill can eat 3,000 spruce seeds in a day. Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Apr. 2021 Being seen are representatives from eight finch species: pine siskin, common redpoll, hoary redpoll, purple finch, pine grosbeak, evening grosbeak, red crossbill, and white-winged crossbill, plus red-breasted nuthatch. Star Tribune, 22 Dec. 2020 Surprises along the way might including sightings of a rare winter visitor, the red crossbill, as well as animal tracks in the snow, which Iwanicki will identify. Sheryl Devore, chicagotribune.com, 21 Dec. 2020 There were two swamp sparrows at Post Farm Marsh in Lenox, a red crossbill at Steepletop Reserve in New Marlborough, 105 red-winged blackbirds at Ashley Falls in Sheffield. BostonGlobe.com, 9 Feb. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1672, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
cross bill
see bill sense 3a