The breeding range consists of the coniferous and mixed forests of Canada and Alaska and extends south into Maine, Oregon and around the Great Lakes.  During the winter the Crossbill migrates to the northern half of the United States.  Depending on the availability of the pine and spruce cones they irregularly migrate in large numbers much further south than their usual range.

The clutch consists of 2 to 4 pale blue eggs spotted with brown and placed in a shallow nest constructed of bark, grass and roots and lined with moss and other fine materials.  The nest is usually located out from the trunk near the end of a conifer branch. The eggs are incubated for about two weeks by the female while the male feeds regurgitated material to the female. The young are also fed a regurgitated seed pulp that resemble milk.  During times of plenty they may produce as many as 3 broods and will multiply rapidly.  However, when the cone crop fails as it does ever several years many of these birds will die and a balance is maintained.

Their specialized crossed mandibles allow them to pry apart the scales on the spruce and pine cones and they extract the seeds with their tongues.  They can be acrobatic while extracting these seeds sometimes hanging upside down and not detaching the cone.  At other times they will detach the cone and take it to a nearby perch and sometimes feed on cones that have fallen to the ground.  During the summer when spruce seeds are scarce, they will eat insects especially aphids as well as other seeds.  However, their unique bills puts them at a distinct disadvantage to other birds when gathering seeds other than those from cones.   Their fondness for road salt causes more than a few traffic casualties.