crossbill

[ kraws-bil, kros- ]

noun

any bird belonging to the genus Loxia, of the finch family, characterized by mandibles curved so that the tips cross each other when the bill is closed.

Origin of crossbill

First recorded in 1665–75; cross- + bill²

Words Nearby crossbill

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use crossbill in a sentence

Similarly, both the German varieties of crossbill commonly begin to sing before losing the plumage characteristic of youth.
The Sexual Life of the Child | Albert Moll
Among the species which thus modify their habits are the red crossbill, the redpoll, the Lapland longspur, and the snowy owl.
The Rocky Mountain Wonderland | Enos A. Mills
Neither did Anton's crossbill, which dwelt in the stube, have a much happier fate.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. XII. No. 31. October, 1873. | Various
Both sexes have white wing-bars and the male is of a paler, more rosy red than the male of the American crossbill.
What Bird is That? | Frank M. Chapman
The crossbill is fitted with a wonderful tool for tearing fir-cones to pieces.
Chatterbox Stories of Natural History | Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for crossbill

crossbill

/ (ˈkrɒsˌbɪl) /

noun

any of various widely distributed finches of the genus Loxia, such as L. curvirostra, that occur in coniferous woods and have a bill with crossed mandible tips for feeding on conifer seeds

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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