Pine Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak was the first species I saw when I arrived in Lapland. I was up early and took a short walk from the hotel in Ivalo and I heard some unfamiliar whistling calls from some Scots Pines nearby. As I approached I saw there were about six Pine Grosbeaks feeding on pine buds. The light was poor early morning so this was taken later in the day at a place where sunflower seeds had been put out. Their scientific name Pinicola enucleator translates as "Pine dweller, remove the kernel" and they were certainly adept at removing the kernels from sunflower seeds. Linnaeus first named them Loxia enucleator as he thought they were Crossbills but they are more closely related to Bullfinch. But they are much larger than Bullfinch, about twice the weight and about 5cm longer. Like Bullfinch, the males and females are a different colour. This carmine pink individual is an adult male. They inhabit coniferous forests in the far north of Fennoscandia, Russia and North America too. When food is scarce they sometimes wander south and they are even a very occasional visitor to Britain.
Pine Grosbeak
Pine Grosbeak was the first species I saw when I arrived in Lapland. I was up early and took a short walk from the hotel in Ivalo and I heard some unfamiliar whistling calls from some Scots Pines nearby. As I approached I saw there were about six Pine Grosbeaks feeding on pine buds. The light was poor early morning so this was taken later in the day at a place where sunflower seeds had been put out. Their scientific name Pinicola enucleator translates as "Pine dweller, remove the kernel" and they were certainly adept at removing the kernels from sunflower seeds. Linnaeus first named them Loxia enucleator as he thought they were Crossbills but they are more closely related to Bullfinch. But they are much larger than Bullfinch, about twice the weight and about 5cm longer. Like Bullfinch, the males and females are a different colour. This carmine pink individual is an adult male. They inhabit coniferous forests in the far north of Fennoscandia, Russia and North America too. When food is scarce they sometimes wander south and they are even a very occasional visitor to Britain.