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White-winged Crossbills are widespread and abundant across the spruce forests of Canada. Their local numbers fluctuate widely from year to year depending on the spruce cone crop, since these birds feed almost exclusively on spruce seeds. Annual numbers generated by the Christmas Bird Count and the Breeding Bird Survey show wide variation, but overall the population has shown an increase since about 1970. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
Population size of the White-winged Crossbill fluctuates widely in response to food (spruce seed) availability (Benkman 2012). Therefore, large-scale forestry that reduces the age-class distribution of spruce forests enough to limit cone production could be detrimental to this species (Benkman 2012).
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.