Learn More About the Birds With the Big Beaks Going Ga-Ga for Grosbeaks.
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Transcript of Learn More About the Birds With the Big Beaks Going Ga-Ga for Grosbeaks.
• Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks are in the same family as cardinals
• Evening Grosbeaks are in the finch family
Basic Grosbeak Facts
• Grosbeaks are slow-moving birds that are deliberate in their motions
• They show little fear of humans
• Both sexes of each species sing, and each has different songs
Basic Grosbeak Facts
• Rose-breasted and Black-headed Grosbeaks will interbreed in areas where their ranges overlap
• Hybrids can look like either parent species, or be intermediate in pattern, with various combinations of pink, orange, and black.
Basic Grosbeak Facts
• Grosbeak nests are loose, open cups of sticks, twigs, grasses, weed stems or straw that are lined with fine twigs, rootlets or hair
• Grosbeak nests are usually placed in trees, shrubs or vines
Basic Grosbeak Facts
• Female grosbeaks do virtually all of the nest-building, but males share equally in incubating the eggs and feeding the young
• Grosbeak nests are so thinly constructed that eggs can often be seen from below through the nest
Basic Grosbeak Facts
• Grosbeaks have unusual diets for birds with such large beaks
• For most of the year, over half of their diet is made up of insects
• Their huge beaks allow them to eat insects that have tough exoskeletons
Basic Grosbeak Facts
• Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are relatively common throughout much of eastern and central North America
• They live in primary and secondary deciduous and mixed forests and thickets, and in parks and gardens
Rose-breastedGrosbeaks
• Rose-breasted Grosbeaks stay in Central and South America during winter
• Migrants begin to arrive in North America in mid-March to mid-April
Rose-breastedGrosbeaks
• Males are black and white birds with large white wing patches and rosy spots beneath the wings that are visible in flight
• Females look like large, streaky-brown sparrows with big beaks
Rose-breastedGrosbeaks
• Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are known for singing on moonlit nights, sometimes all night, but never very loudly
• Their voices are rich, whistled phrases that are often described as a “robin that’s taken singing lessons”
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• Though their natural diet is made up mostly by insects, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks will also eat seeds and some fruits
• Their preferred feeder foods are sunflower, safflower and peanuts
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• Rose-breasted Grosbeak nests are commonly parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird, possibly because of the singing done by both the male and female as they construct and sit on the nest
Rose-breastedGrosbeaks
• Usually have between one and four pale green or blue eggs with reddish-brown blotches or specks
• They will incubate for 12 to 14 days, and nestlings usually leave between nine and 14 days from birth
Rose-breastedGrosbeaks
• Black-headed Grosbeaks are relatively common throughout much of western North America
• They prefer to live in open, deciduous woodlands near water and in swampy places with a mixture of trees and shrubs
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• Black-headed Grosbeaks stay in Central and South America during winter; some can be found in these locations throughout the year
• Migrants begin to arrive in North America in April and May
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• Black-headed Grosbeak males have cinnamon bodies and black wings with white wing patches
• Again, the females look like large, chunky sparrows
Black-headedGrosbeaks
• Black-headed Grosbeaks’ musical phrases are similar to Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and are reminiscent of a robin
Black-headedGrosbeaks
• Though their natural diet is made up mostly by insects, Black-headed Grosbeaks will also eat weed seeds and some fruits
• Their preferred feeder foods are sunflower seeds
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• Black-headed Grosbeaks are monogamous through a single breeding and nesting season
• Black-headed Grosbeak females will sing a “male” song, making her mate believe that he hears a rival, forcing him to stay closer to the nest
Black-headedGrosbeaks
• Usually have between two and five pale green-blue eggs with red-brown spots
• They will incubate for 12 to 14 days, and nestlings usually leave between nine and 14 days from birth
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• Black-headed Grosbeaks are one of the few birds that can eat toxic Monarch Butterflies
• They discard the wings before eating the butterfly to reduce the amount of toxins they ingest
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• Black-headed Grosbeaks, along with Black-backed Orioles are the primary avian predators of the over-winter populations of Monarch Butterflies found in Mexico
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• Combined, they are responsible for more than 60% of Monarch mortality at many of the Mexican roosting sites
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For more information about grosbeaks, visit our online field guide:
www.rightbird.com
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