Record number of red crossbills seen in Swiss Alps
The colouring of the crossbill can vary between red, green and yellow. Only adult males have red plumage. Young birds are grey and have streaked plumage.
Vogelwarte / Irmi Zwahlen
Red crossbills, small colourful birds with a parrot-like appearance, were particularly numerous this year as they passed over the Col de Bretolet in the Swiss Alps. The ringing station there intercepted more than 2,500 of them, a record.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
“This number suggests that spring nesting was good this year,” Chloé Pang of the Swiss Ornithological Institute told Keystone-ATS. But it also means that the extreme weather conditions in autumn prevented this nomadic species from remaining in Switzerland, and forced them to migrate.
The movements of this brightly coloured bird, which resembles a mountain parrot, are highly dependent on the availability of food, particularly the fruiting of spruce trees. It feeds on the seeds that its hooked beak is capable of extracting. “The crossbill will not be in danger as long as it can rely on coniferous forests,” Pang said.
The colouring of the crossbill can vary between red, green and yellow. Only adult males have red plumage. Young birds are grey and have streaked plumage.
This nomadic species, which likes to travel in small groups, does not nest in the same region every year. “In 2022, the Swiss Ornithological Institute did not capture a single one at the Col de Bretolet,” Pang recalls.
Ringing makes it possible to study the phenology of migrations, to understand movements and peak numbers, and also to collect “precious data”, such as weight, state of health and sex, on the species.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Is artificial intelligence an advantage or a disadvantage for workers?
What is your experience with AI at work? Have you already used it? Has it helped you work better? Or has it caused you more stress, more work or caused you to lose your job? Tell us about your experiences!
Swiss price watchdog slams excessive prices for generic medicines
This content was published on
The cheapest generic medicines available in Switzerland are more than twice as expensive as in other countries, according to a study by the Swiss price watchdog.
Nature should not figure in net zero calculations: academic study
This content was published on
The natural removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by forests or oceans should not be included in the net-zero balance of climate protection measures, argue researchers.
This content was published on
None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.
This content was published on
Nestlé's new CEO Laurent Freixe, has presented plans for the future of the world's largest food company, after his first few weeks in office.
Swiss foreign minister calls on Moscow to end Ukraine war
This content was published on
It's high time Moscow ended its war against Ukraine, Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis tells the UN Security Council.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.