The two-barred crossbill was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[4] Gmelin based his account on the "white winged crossbill" that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds.

The main plumage distinction from the red crossbill is the white wingbars which give this species its English and scientific names.

Some red crossbills occasionally show weak white wingbars, so care is needed with the correct identification of this species.

This bird breeds in the coniferous forests of Alaska, Canada, the northernmost United States and across the Palearctic extending into northeast Europe.

This crossbill is mainly resident, but will irregularly irrupt south if its food source fails.

It will also take rowan (Sorbus) berries, and in North America, also eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and white spruce (Picea glauca) cones.