Blue Grosbeak

The Blue Grosbeak is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds across most of the southern half of the United States and much of northern Mexico. It eats mostly insects, but it will also eat snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and wild fruits. The Blue Grosbeak forages on the ground and in shrubs and trees.

The Blue Grosbeak is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Distribution of the Blue Grosbeak in North and Central America. The Blue Grosbeak is a large bunting of the southern forest edge, often seen singing from roadside wires and tree tops. Although widespread throughout its breeding range, it is generally scarce and virtually all aspects of its biology are poorly known, perhaps owing in part to its low numbers. More

Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea, formerly Guiraca caerulea), is a medium-sized seed-eating bird in the same family as the Northern Cardinal, "tropical" or New World buntings, and "cardinal-grosbeaks" or New World grosbeaks. The Blue Grosbeak is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds across most of the southern half of the United States and much of northern Mexico. It eats mostly insects, but it will also eat snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and wild fruits. More

Blue Grosbeaks are large buntings of forest edge with a widespread breeding range in North America, Mexico and Central America. The males are often seen singing from roadside wires and tree tops. While the breeding biology of this bird is likely similar to its relative, the Indigo Bunting, there is little detailed information about Blue Grosbeak nesting ecology, courtship behavior and song structure available. More

The Blue Grosbeak has a very large range, extending to around 5,300,000 square kilometers and can be found in subtropical and tropical forest or shrubland ecological systems. It is primarily found in North, Central, and South America, but has been seen in places such as Barbados and the Cayman Islands. The global population is believed to be about 7,700,000 birds and does not meet the criteria for the IUCN Red List. The Blue Grosbeak currently has an IUCN evaluation level of Least Concern. More

Blue Grosbeak is an uncommon bird of shrubby habitats across the southern United States. More

* Blue Grosbeak by John Audubon * Blue Grosbeak Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology * North Carolina Partners in Flight * Blue Grosbeak - Guiraca caerulea - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * Blue Grosbeak Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding * Picture of Blue Grosbeak in hand * Blue Grosbeak More

Blue Grosbeaks nesting in the U.S. winter in Mexico and Central America, and many of them migrate through the Caribbean to get there. There are records of Blue Grosbeaks at bird feeders in winter in the northern U.S., though few of these birds probably survive until spring. Follow the link on the left for additional information. The Birdzilla. More

Bent Life History for the Blue Grosbeak - the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written. EASTERN BLUE GROSBEAK GUIRACA CAERULEA CAERULEA (Linnaeus) HABITS For a study of the characters and ranges of the races of this species, the reader is referred to a revision by Dwight and Griscom (1927). More

The Blue Grosbeak is often mistaken for its relative, the Indigo Bunting. Indigo Buntings are smaller overall, have a smaller bill, and the adult male lacks the wing bars present in the Blue Grosbeak. Both male and female Blue Grosbeaks have the habit of spreading and flicking their tails, and occasionally raising the feathers on the crown, giving the head a shaggy appearance. SPECIES DESCRIPTION - Length: 15. More

The blue grosbeak is easily recognized by its thick bill, which is used for cracking seeds. Tail flipping is a common behavior of this bird. More

Central America, the Blue Grosbeak is migrating north to its breeding range, which extends over much of the southern half of the United States. Blue GrosbeakGuiraca caerulea The husky warbling song of the Blue Grosbeak is a common sound in summer around thickets and hedgerows in the southern states. Often the bird hides in those thickets; sometimes it perches up in the open, looking like an overgrown Indigo Bunting, flicking and spreading its tail in a nervous action. More

The California Blue Grosbeak is restricted to the Lower Sonoran Zone where it lives in the low dense thickets of willow on the bottom lands of the big rivers. It is therefore not likely to come to the attention of the mountain-seeking visitor unless he should stop off at some place in the lowlands and make special search for the bird. More

Blue Grosbeak breeding male has deep blue plumage, with blackish tail and wings. We can see two wide chestnut wing bars. Head is deep blue, with black patch around the base of bill and lores. Conical bill is two-toned, with black upper mandible, and grey lower. Eyes are dark brown. Legs and feet are grey. Blue Grosbeak in fresh autumn plumage has slightly dull plumage, with reddish-brown edges on entire body. More

greatest Blue Grosbeak densities are reported for G. c. caeraula in se U.S. (spot-mapping, Ingold 1993). Reported densities are 30 males/km2 in Florida (Baker 1989 in Ingold 1993), and 31 males/km2 in e TX (Dickson Segelquist 1979 in Ingold 1993). BBS data from map in Ingold indicates CA densities to be less than 5 birds per route per year. Along the Colorado River, densities are reported as 4 to 6 pairs/40 ha (Rosenberg 1991). In Orange Co. More

The Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea, is a member of the bird family Cardinalidae. It is a medium-sized seed eating bird related to New World buntings or New World grosbeaks. It is a migratory bird, which nests across most of the southern half of the United States, and much of northern Mexico. More

Blue Grosbeaks are somewhat secretive but can be found across Tennessee during the summer months. They arrive by the end of April and depart by the end of September, and occur in brushy fields, and hedgerows adjoining grasslands and croplands. Interestingly, they only started nesting in Tennessee in 1945, and had spread across the state by the mid-1960s. The reasons for this dramatic range expansion are unknown. More