Scottish whip

Scottish crossbill ( lat.Loxia scotica ) - one of the types of crossbills .

Scottish whip
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryotes Kingdom: Animals Kingdom : Eumetazoi No rank : Bilateral symmetrical No rank : Secondary Type of: Chordate Subtype : Vertebrates Infratype : Maxillary Overclass : Tetrapods Grade: Birds Subclass : Real birds Infraclass : Newborn Squad: Passerines Suborder : Songbirds Infrastructure : Passerida Superfamily : Passeroidea Family: Finch Subfamily : Goldfinch Tribe : Goldfinch Gender: Crossbills View: Scottish whip
International scientific name
Loxia scotica Hartert , 1904
Security status
Least Concerned IUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22720641

The range of the species is Caledonian forests ; the Scottish crossbird does not live anywhere else in the wild. The species is considered the only endemic of Great Britain among birds. ^[1] The habitat intersects the area of pine crossbills . The number of individuals is estimated at less than 2,000 birds.

Scottish crossbill is a small bird with a body length of 15-17 cm and a weight of about 50 g . As with the other types of crossbills, the beak and beak are crossed among themselves. The basis of nutrition is pine seeds . It nests mainly on common pine ( Pinus sylvestris ), but can also build a nest on Scottish coniferous trees that are unusual for Scotland . The female lays 2-5 eggs .

Three species of crossbills ( Loxia curvirostra , Loxia pytyopsittacus and Loxia scotica ) living in Scotland were examined using molecular genetic markers - microsatellites and sequenced sections of mitochondrial DNA , but no genetic differentiation between them was detected ^[2] . At the same time, clear interspecific differences were established at the level of morphology (the size of the beak , which has high heritability , and the size of the body), the sounds emitted, and assortative crossing ^[3] .