Crossbills are sometimes lumped into the category of "winter finches," but the truth is that they ignore the calendar and may stage movements at almost any time of year. Right now there is a significant movement of Red Crossbills happening to the west and north of Ohio. Southeastern Wisconsin has had surprising numbers this month, but there are also reports from southern Minnesota, northern Illinois, western and northern Michigan, central New York, and even Nebraska and Kansas. It wouldn't be at all surprising if small flocks started arriving in Ohio soon.

Of course, the Red Crossbill (as currently defined) is almost certainly a complex of several cryptic species. To separate these species, the most reliable distinction is in the callnotes - the sound of the "kip-kip" calls varies among the various types. If you are lucky enough to find Red Crossbills in Ohio, try to get a recording of their voices if you can. Many digital cameras now allow you to record video (with sound), and even a cell phone may be used to make a recording.

Some information about Red Crossbill call types can be found at this eBird link:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/introduction-to%20crossbill-vocalizations
and some at this older website by Jeff Groth:
http://research.amnh.org/vz/ornithology/crossbills/index.html
and here are links to some cuts of five call types by Nathan Pieplow at earbirding dot com:
http://earbirding.com/blog/archives/193

But again, if you have the good fortune to find Red Crossbills here, try to get a recording of their flight calls if you can. A lot remains to be learned about the distribution of these call types / species, so this is still a wide-open area for discovery by birders.

Kenn Kaufman
Editor, Kaufman Field Guides series
http://www.kaufmanfieldguides.com/
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