Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)

Red Crossbill [dorsal view of male]. Photograph Credit: Janet Dowlen; Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee; 27 May 2013.

Abundance: Very Uncommon overall but usually absent; sporadic invasion winters account for most records; 18 records in 10 Regional counties, 2 in Kentucky and 8 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend in the population wintering in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Visitor during fall, winter, and spring (17 records); Visitor during summer (1 record); photograph (see above).

Regional High Count: 18 (28 October 1972; Pickett County, Tennessee; Robbie C. Hassler; Bierly 1972).

Information on Records: 

August 1880 (modest flock—several adults and 1 immature) multiple sites in and close to Rugby, Morgan County, Tennessee (G. S. Smith; Smith 1881).

28 October 1972 (18) Pickett State Park, Pickett County, Tennessee (Robbie C. Hassler; Bierly 1972).

10 April 1973 (15) Walden Ridge, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Wayne Brown; Williams 1973b).

11 June 1973 (10+—including juveniles) West of Westel, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Fred J. Alsop III, G. Ron Austing; Williams 1973c; Alsop 1974).

21 October 1978 (1—male) Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Tom Laughlin, Rick Phillips; Bierly 1979a).

14 May 1985 (7) Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Barbara H. Stedman; Dubke and Dubke 1985b).

10 April 1988 (5) Oneida, Scott County, Tennessee (C. P. Nicholson; Knight 1988c).

26–27 February 1993 (1—female) Garland Rd., south of Burnside, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr.; Monroe and Stamm 1993a).

11 December 2012 (1) Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton).

22 December 2012 (2—heard only) Old Rt. 28, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Daniel L. Combs), a CBC record.

Winter 2012–2013 (several), several sites, Barren County, Kentucky (various observers).

15 February 2013 (1) Glenobey Rd., Fentress County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand), a Great Backyard Bird Count record.

30 March 2013 (1) Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park, Van Buren County, Tennessee (Jeffery Kurtzman, Shawn Kurtzman, Ashley Peele), an eBird record.

19 April–27 May 2013 (4–8+) Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Nan [Anna] Evans Beesley photo [18 May 2013], Edmund K. LeGrand photo [19 April 2013], Janet Dowlen photo [27 May 2013; see above]).

4 May 2013 (1) White County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand), a Spring Bird Count record.

9 May 2013 (2) Eubank City Park, Eubank, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Granville Cox), a Spring Bird Count record.

24 May 2013 (4) Big Bottom Unit, Bridgestone-Firestone WMA, Van Buren County, Tennessee (Scott G. Somershoe).

16 January 2017 (c. 7) Lakeland Drive, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: several dates during August 1880 (Morgan County, Tennessee; G. S. Smith; Smith 1881); next earliest: 21 October 1978 (Cumberland County, Tennessee; Tom Laughlin, Rick Phillips; Bierly 1979a).

    Late Spring: 11 June 1973 (Cumberland County, Tennessee; Fred J. Alsop III, G. Ron Austing; Williams 1973c; Alsop 1974).

Breeding: The modest flock reported from Rugby, Morgan County, Tennessee, during August 1880 is about the earliest published Regional sighting and may represent a breeding record.  The flock of 10+ Red Crossbills seen in Cumberland County, Tennessee, 11 June 1973 (Alsop 1974) included at least two juveniles, indicative of breeding, given the date, but given the highly nomadic tendencies of this species, the location of the breeding site producing these juveniles is open to question.

Habitat: Coniferous or mixed forests of various ages.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Remarks: Also reported during late spring 1988 in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Scott County, Tennessee by L. Bickford (Resource Management Office files, BSFNRRA, NPS; Stedman and Stedman 2002).  A record of three Red Crossbills on the December 1957 CBC in Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, is considered hypothetical.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited