Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	White-winged Crossbill
Scientific name:	Loxia leucoptera
Date:	9 December 2023
Time:	1012
Length of time observed:	8 seconds
Number:	1
Age:	Unknown
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Bountiful
County:	Davis
Latilong:	40.8555, -111.86402
Elevation:	5180 ft
Distance to bird:	20 ft
Optical equipment:	n/a
Weather:	31°F, mostly sunny
Light Conditions:
Description: Size of bird:
(Description:) Basic Shape:
(Description:) Overall Pattern:
(Description:) Bill Type:
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	Recorded the supplied call from a Blue Spruce; bird itself could not be spotted in the thick cover. I was asked to submit this observation for your consideration by Colby Neuman, the eBird reviewer for this region.
Song or call & method of delivery:	Call
Behavior:	Brief vocalization from thick cover within Blue Spruce. Otherwise quiet and still.
Habitat:	Recorded call from Blue Spruce in backyard of home on edge of wildland-urban interface The house is roughly between the edge of a golf course and more open habitat including mixed woodland and open country. This neighborhood is fairly bird friendly, with many feeders, native plants, etc. The area is a popular flyover spot for birds moving up to the higher country in the foothills to the east, which also have a small bird-friendly neighborhood of about 35 houses, many of which have feeders and native plants.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Colby Neuman asked me to submit this record and agreed the recording sounded good for White-winged Crossbill, but also noted he could not rule out House Finch. I agree that seems like the most relevant species to rule out, especially given that they were present on the same eBird checklist (https://ebird.org/checklist/S156646662). House Finches are very common at this location, occurring essentially daily. I am fairly confident I have never heard one of our House Finches vocalize like this, if that is helpful. Additionally, I am completely confident that, across 465 observation periods, I have never seen a House Finch in that Blue Spruce for whatever reason. The tree is popular with Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Woodhouse's Scrub-jays, but although the finches frequent other conifers in the area, I have never seen them in this Blue Spruce or the nearby Ponderosa Pines.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	No previous experience with White-winged Crossbills. Previous close visual and audible encounters with Red Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, and Evening Grosbeaks, the latter of which have been observed visually and audibly at this location.
References consulted:	https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/65099031 especially the section beginning at 1:45
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Rob Kent de Grey
Observer's address:	3130 S 975 E, Bountiful, UT 84010 (same as observation site)
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	n/a
Date prepared:	25 Jan. 2024
Additional material:	Audio
Additional comments:	I apologize for the paucity of detail in this observation. This is not a vocalization that I have ever heard before or since in this yard, but submitted it to eBird for more expert review, and was there asked to submit it to you, I suppose for more expert review. I am a scientist in an unrelated environmental field, so I have a zeal for reporting data accurately and have tried to provide as much objective information here as possible, but I do not have the expertise to venture a more informed opinion regarding the probability of this bird having visited here. Thanks for your expertise, and please let me know if I can be of any assistance.