Beautiful colours from Russia

Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator) normally inhabit northern coniferous forests, being mostly a permanent resident. When food sources are scarce, they may however, be seen far away from their normal distribution in what is known as an irruption. After a good breeding season in the forests followed by a food source failure in the russian taiga, many birds may migrate far away from their normal range. This winter, food sources were good in Northern Norway with lots of rowan-berries (attracting large numbers of waxwings and thrushes), and this made many pine grosbeaks appear as far away from their normal range. Here are some images of a beautiful red male feeding on the male flowers of a spruce on Kvaløya on the outer coast of Northern Norway.