Passerina caerulea
male
The Blue Grosbeak is an attractive songbird with a relatively large, conical bill. The sexes are dissimilar. Adult males are mostly deep blue, with a black face, two reddish-brown wingbars, and buff margins to the tertial feathers. Adult females are mainly buffish brown, subtly darker above than below, and with a pale throat and two reddish-brown wingbars. Juveniles are similar to an adult female. By their first spring, immature males have acquired a hint of blue on the head, rump, and tail.
The Blue Grosbeak is present as a breeding species across the southern half of North America mainly from May to August. It spends the rest of the year mainly in Central America. Typically, it remains hidden in dense brush for much of the time, but males in particular sometimes perch in the open, fanning their tail in an agitated manner.
female
1st-spring male
FACT FILE
LENGTH 6.75 in (17 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates and seeds in spring and summer; fruits and berries at other times
HABITAT Scrub-colonized overgrown grassland
STATUS Widespread and common summer visitor
VOICE Song is a series of warbling whistles. Call is a sharp pink
