Red crossbill
Videos
The red crossbill or common crossbill is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from co
Red Crossbills
Female red crossbill
Eggs from the collections of the MHNT
Mediaeval sketch by Matthew Paris in his Chronica Majora (1254) of a crossbill holding a fruit in its beak, with the Latin words Alaudis parum majores ('a little bigger than larks').
Serotiny
Videos
Serotiny in botany simply means 'following' or 'later'.
Fire has caused minimal damage to this Banksia serrata (saw banksia) fruiting structure, but has triggered the opening of the follicles and the release of seed.
Pitch pine cones open when exposed to fire. Left: before; centre: immediately after; right: 24 hours later