Blue Grosbeak

Here's a Blue Grosbeak I met last May, and it's yet another bird-that's-blue in my area. The males are nearly as blue as one of their local relatives [1], the Indigo Bunting. I think you're supposed to distinguish between the 2 species due to:

  • The proportionately large beak of the Blue Grosbeak.
  • The rufus wingbars of the Blue Grosbeak.
  • Seen together (which I've never done) the Blue Grosbeak is bigger.
More distantly related to the Blue Grosbeak are the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the Northern Cardinal; they're all in the cardinal family (AKA cardinal-grosbeak family [2]). As I mentioned in my Rose-breasted Grosbeak post, the name "grosbeak" comes from the French "gros" meaning large, not the English "gross" meaning repulsive.

Blue Grosbeak's breed in our area but they prefer to spend the winter in warmer climes. They're generally considered to be "uncommon but widespread".
May 4, 2023 at Duke Farms
Photo 278563518, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


[1] Their closest relative overall is considered to be the Lazuli Bunting, a species that generally lives west of the Mississippi River.

[2] Despite buntings also being in this family, apparently they don't get their name on the family name. Perhaps the cardinal-grosbeak-bunting family would be too unwieldy? 

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