Bird's 'accent' makes it unique

A bird's Scottish 'accent' has set it out as one of a kind.

There's been a long row as to whether the Scottish crossbill deserved to have its own species - or just be part of a bigger category of crossbill.

But now the RSPB has decided that the bird, which lives in Highland pine forests, is unique.

The chunky bird flies in its own special way and, just like native Scots people, has a distinct Scottish call, different from other crossbills.

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RSPB scientists used recordings to distinguish the different calls of the crossbills.

Scottish Crossbill info They makes a chup chup call, a bit like a flute They live on pine seeds They have large heads and big bills

It's thought that there are about 1,500 Scottish Crossbills and they are only found in Scotland, making it the only type of bird that's only found in the UK and nowhere else.

The RSPB's Dr Ron Summers, who led the study, said: "This research proves the UK is lucky enough to have a unique bird species that occurs here and nowhere else - and this is our only one."

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