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Blue Grosbeak

Guiraca caeruleaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Cardinals and Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae)

Blue Grosbeak Portrait_2
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General

Blue Grosbeak: Large finch with bright purple-blue body, black face, and two wide, brown wingbars. Female and juvenile are brown with occasional blue feathers on upperparts.

Range and Habitat

Blue Grosbeak: Breeds from California, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, and New Jersey southward and spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include brushy, moist pastures, and roadside thickets.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"pink"

Interesting Facts

  • The Blue Grosbeak was first described in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist.
  • It was formerly placed in its own genus, Guiraca. Similarities with buntings in genetics, behavior, molts, and plumages led to its inclusion in the bunting genus Passerina.
  • It sometimes uses snakeskin as nesting material, which is thought to thwart predators.
  • A group of grosbeaks are collectively known as a "gross" of grosbeaks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Blue Grosbeak
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Guiraca caerulea
Length6.25 - 7.5 Inches
Wingspan11 Inches

Blue Grosbeak

Blue Grosbeak: Large finch, bright purple-blue body, black face, and two wide, brown wingbars. Dark wings, tail. Hops on ground to forage. Gleans from bushes, weeds and trees. Feeds on insects, snails, grains, seeds and fruits. Swift flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "pink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Blue Grosbeak: Diet consists mostly of insects and seeds gleaned from the ground; occasionally eats fruits. Flocks sometimes feed in grain fields or grasslands before migration.

● Breeding & nesting: Blue Grosbeak: Three to five light blue eggs, sometimes marked with brown, are laid in a loose cup of grass, weed stems, and leaves concealed in a clump of weeds. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Blue Grosbeak: Indigo Bunting is smaller and lacks brown wingbars.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight with rapid wing beats.
Blue Grosbeak Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Blue Grosbeak: Breeds from California, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, and New Jersey southward and spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include brushy, moist pastures, and roadside thickets.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationUncommon to fairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1 Ounces