Blue buntings8/27/2023 One-year-old male Blue Grosbeaks in spring are quite variable, with almost any combination of blue and brown on the body plumage, but it’s very common for them to have the blue feathers concentrated on the head and chest. And with a close look, a tinge of blue often shows on the tail, shoulders, and elsewhere. Fine streaks on the chest are usually present but can be hard to see, as on this individual. Usually, they’re barely different in color from the rest of the wing. The wing bars can even look warm buff, bringing to mind the pattern of a female Blue Grosbeak. The bird does have wing bars, not obvious but always present except on some late-summer birds in very worn plumage. That plainness, along with details of shape, can help to nail the ID. None of our sparrows is so devoid of markings. April in Galveston County, Texas.įew birds can match a female Indigo Bunting for being purely plain brown. The grosbeak’s thick bill, big head, and chunky body are among its best field marks. Despite these subtle differences in markings, elements of shape are most important for ID. Blurry streaking is sometimes visible on the back, while the chest is plain and unstreaked the female Indigo Bunting has a plain back and finely streaked chest. The wing bars are always fairly conspicuous, varying from a dull buff-brown (as on the bird in this photo) to a brighter cinnamon-brown or chestnut-brown. Overall body color varies from warm brown to dull gray-brown the color is often richer on the head. The female Blue Grosbeak is a subtle bird, with only hints of blue on the shoulder, rump, and tail. Blue Grosbeak, female, April in Galveston County, Texas Female is brown with blue tinges and has blurry stripes on the back but no streaking on the chest. Young male wears a mix of brown and blue. Adult male blue all over, clouded with brown feather tips in fall. Female has very plain brown face, contrasting with pale base of thick lower mandible.īody plumage. Male has black feathering around the base of the bill. In addition, male grosbeaks have black on the face around the base of the bill, lacking on the bunting.įace pattern. Young male Indigo Buntings can be mostly blue with brown in the wings, including brown wing bars, but they never approach the grosbeak’s full pattern. The grosbeak has rich chestnut-rufous wing bars, the upper one very broad. Indigo Bunting males are blue only in spring and summer, molting into a mostly brown plumage for winter, while adult male Blue Grosbeaks are blue all year. Although the Blue Grosbeak is distinctive after enough practice, it’s easy to confuse this species with Indigo Bunting, so this column will focus on comparing those two species.Īdult males in breeding plumage are easiest to separate. It’s now placed among the Passerina buntings, along with Indigo, Lazuli, Painted, and Varied Buntings. They now breed regularly north to New Jersey, Ohio, and North Dakota, and migrants stray as far north as Canada in both spring and fall, so birders everywhere have reason to think about identifying them.įor many years, this grosbeak was classified in a genus by itself. Most common in the south, they have spread northward in recent decades. Photo by Brian Smallįrom coast to coast across the United States, Blue Grosbeaks are regular summer residents in dense streamside thickets. Blue Grosbeak, adult male May in Kern County, California.
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