Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	White-winged Crossbill
Scientific name:	Loxia leucoptera
Date:	8/30/2026
Time:	10:50 AM
Length of time observed:	Five minutes
Number:	1
Age:	Juvenile
Sex:	Unknown
Location:	Timpooneke Campground
County:	Utah
Latilong:	40.431447, -111.642835
Elevation:	Approximately 7400'
Distance to bird:	About 20' for about a minute. About 50' for the rest of the time
Optical equipment:	Vortex Viper HD 10X50 binoculars and a Nikon Z8 and lens zoomed to 600mm
Weather:	Warm with no wind
Light Conditions:	Sunny with occasional clouds
Description: Size of bird:	Similar to a House Finch
(Description:) Basic Shape:	Slender and somewhat long-tailed
(Description:) Overall Pattern:	Gray/brown on top except for bright white wingbars and gray/brown streaking and pale on the underside.
(Description:) Bill Type:	Crossed
(Description:) Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics:	I first heard a two-note crossbill call as I was about the complete driving around Loop B of the campground. To my ear, it was noticeably different from what I'm used to hearing from Red Crossbills in this area, so I exited my truck to get a recording. It almost sounded more like a nasally "beep beep". I'm still trying to nail down how to describe it. Merlin didn't recognize it, but I wondered if it was a White-winged Crossbill. I located the bird as it flew from one spruce tree to another. I listened to the second White-winged Crossbill call in my Siblely app, which appeared to be similar, so I used it as playback to see if the bird would react to it. The bird immediately flew down toward me and landed in a nearby spruce. I was able to capture images of the bird at that time. The white wingbars were bright and bolder on the inner feathers, not pale and thin as illustrated by Sibley for juvenile Red Crossbill. The white wingbars appeared thicker at times as the bird moved or changed its posture. Again, what initially caught my attention was that the two, three, and four-note calls were different from the Red Crossbill calls that I'm used to hearing. Seeing the bold white wingbars seemed to confirm that I first heard and then observed a juvenile White-winged Crossbill. An audio file and images are included for further scrutiny/review. The sound and spectrogram matches those of some White-winged audio files in the Macaulay Library. This one for example: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/632423837 (see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery:	two, three, and four-note calls that were more mechanical or nasally sounding to my ear
Behavior:	Calling while moving between cone-laden spruce trees and perching at the tops at times.
Habitat:	Mature spruce in the specific area of the observation
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Juvenile Red Crossbills can show weak/pale wingbars, but this bird's wingbars were bright white and bold. The call for Red Crossbill is less mechanical or nasally than what I heard and recorded.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Very little, actually, with White-winged. I had two observations prior to this encounter. I hear and observe Red Crossbills numerous times annually. I'm very familiar with their vocalizations.
References consulted:	Sibley during the observation and then the Macaulay Library afterward to check images and audio files.
Description from:	Notes taken at the time of the sighting From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer:	Jeff Cooper
Observer's address:	Utah County
Observer's e-mail address:	**
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	It is possible that this juvenile was observed two weeks earlier based on UBRC Record 2026-49
Date prepared:	8/31/2026
Additional material:	Photos Tape
Additional comments: