General

Crimson-collared Grosbeak: Large finch with blood-red body, brown-red back, black hood and bib, huge conical bill, and dark wings. Female has black hood and bib but body is olive to olive-yellow.

Range and Habitat

Crimson-collared Grosbeak: Primarily found in northeastern Mexico from central Nuevo León and central Tamaulipas south to northern Veracruz; however, it occasionally strays into the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, mostly in winter. Inhabits humid or semi-arid forest and second growth, from low to high levels, sometimes skulking on the ground.

Breeding and Nesting

Crimson-collared Grosbeak: Two to three pale blue-gray eggs with flecks of brown are laid in a nest made of grass and twigs, lined with finer materials, and built in a bush, tangled vines, or sometimes low in a tree. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Crimson-collared Grosbeak: Eats seeds, berries, fruits, and insects; forages high to low in second-growth forests and brushy woodlands.

Vocalization

Crimson-collared Grosbeak: Song is a rich, slightly burry warble with up-slurred ending "twit-twertt-teer-twerty-dur", similar to that of the Northern Cardinal. Call is thin, shrill up-and-down "see-i-ya."

Similar Species

Crimson-collared Grosbeak: Audubon's Oriole is larger with olive-yellow upperparts, bright yellow underparts, and slender bill.