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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and 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.

Readily Eats

Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Fruit

Vocalization

Blue Grosbeak: Song is a sweet, jumbled warble. Call is a metallic "klink."

Similar Species

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