How to Identify aRose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus · 7.1–8.7 in (18–22 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Black head, back and wings, white underparts, and a bright rose-red patch spilling down the chest; huge pale bill.
Female
Brown and heavily streaked with a bold white eyebrow, looking like an outsized sparrow, with the same massive bill.
Male photo: John Harrison at https://www.flickr.com/photos/15512543@N04/ / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Second photo: Cephas / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Field marks
- Enormous pale conical bill
- Rose-red chest triangle on the male
- Bold white eyebrow and streaked underparts on the female
- Large white wing patches flashing in flight
Similar species
What it sounds like
A sweet, rolling warble like a robin that has had singing lessons, plus a sharp squeaky "eek" call like a sneaker on a gym floor.
Behaviour that gives it away
Both parents incubate, and the male sings quietly from the nest while sitting — unusual among songbirds.
Habitat & range
Deciduous and mixed woodland edges across the northeastern and north-central United States and southern Canada in summer.
When you'll see it
Depending on where in eastern, central and northern North America you are, it is a summer visitor that arrives to breed and a passage migrant, seen mainly in spring and autumn.
What it eats
Seeds, buds, insects and fruit; readily visits sunflower feeders during migration.
Did you know?
The amount of rose on the chest varies enough between individual males that it can be used to tell neighbouring birds apart.
Spot one yourself?
Point your camera at any bird and Aviarist identifies it in seconds — then logs it to your life list.
Get Aviarist on Google Play
More backyard birds
Other apps we make
