common crossbill; red crossbill
A small finch with a distinctive crossed bill, used for extracting seeds from conifer cones. The Japanese name イスカ is the standard term for Loxia curvirostra.
The crossbill eats pine cone seeds.
冬になるとイスカの群れが見られる。
In winter, flocks of crossbills can be seen.
Hiragana spelling, also common for this bird name.
Rare kanji spelling; the characters mean 'cross' and 'beak', referring to the bird's crossed bill.
Very rare single-character kanji spelling for this bird.
The Japanese name イスカ is of uncertain origin. It may be related to the bird's call or an old Japanese word, but the exact derivation is unclear.