SEPTEMBER 2014 MEETING REPORT: CROSSBILLS!

Professor Julie Smith of PLU took us all back to college on the evening of September 29th. She described the projects she and her students have worked on, and we all kind of wished to be those students. Her doctoral advisor had taken the work of earlier studies starting with Lack in 1944 and continuing on through Groth, Benkman, and his own work, which established the “types” of red crossbills according to foods, bill depth, seed husking groove, calls, and type of tree/cone used, and he hypothesized the presence of a distinct crossbill type in the lodgepole pine variety found in a particular area of southern Idaho that did not have Red Squirrels called the South Hills. Dr. Smith went there to find out if such a type existed and discovered it! She continues to study the South Hills Crossbill (type 9 of 10), and expects that eventually this “type” will be recognized as a full species, as well as several of the other types, although probably not all 10 as separate species. She is currently doing the frustrating work of collecting song recordings from crossbills, who sing only when breeding, and breeding can be any time the cone crop is just right, although maybe more predictable with the South Hill type since they are more sedentary than other more irruptive types. The songs are long and improvisational, and we were treated to an example as well as to sonograms. Females are attracted by voice more than bill structure, so this is an important facet. Dr. Smith’s work will be followed closely by a number of us in the years to come. She was very accommodating in answering our many questions, as well.

PHOTOS: Click to enlarge. Be sure to notice Jerry Broadus’ banding shirt featuring a red crossbill applying a band to a kingfisher’s leg!