From the Ornithology Collections in the Division of Zoology
White-winged Crossbill (Common Name)
Loxia leucoptera (Scientific Name)
Normally wintering far to our north, White-winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera) moved southward the winter of 2001-2002 and Nebraska saw an invasion, the largest invasion in recent memory. This specimen (ZM-18265) died when it hit a window in Bassett, Nebraska. An alert citizen, realizing its rarity, turned it over to the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (the species is protected by law, even when dead) who got it to the State Museum. Emily Thaden, museum volunteer, prepared this perfect specimen, the first specimen of White-winged Crossbill to arrive at the museum since the winter of 1886-1887, 116 years earlier.
