Rose-breasted Grosbeak
(Pheucticus ludovicianus)

Cool Fact: The nests of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are composed of twigs, stalks, and coarse grass, without any cementing agent. The nests are often so sparsely built that eggs are visible through them from below.

The arrival of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks is a most welcome sign of spring in eastern and central North America. With its striking colors and richly musical song, the male is one of the most splendid and unmistakable songbirds of America's woodlands, parks, and backyards. Despite its visibility and distinctiveness, however, many aspects of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak's life history-including fundamental aspects of breeding behavior and population dynamics-remain very poorly understood.

The breeding range of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak extends from north-central Canada (northeastern British Columbia and southern Northwest Territories) east to the maritime provinces, and from through the eastern Great Plains to New England. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks also breed in the Appalachian Mountains to the Tennessee-North Carolina border region. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks winter in southern Mexico (including the Yucatan Peninsula), throughout Central America, and Colombia, northwest Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are closely related to Black-headed Grosbeaks, which breed in the mountain and Pacific states. The two species hybridize in the Great Plains, where their ranges overlap. Hybrids may resemble either parent species, or may have features intermediate between the two. Unhybridized Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Black-headed Grosbeaks both occur in the hybrid zone. Experimental evidence suggests that the two species recognize and distinguish each other on the basis of appearance; such recognition is thought to help keep the two species genetically isolated.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks eat insects, fruit, and seeds. Their diets are split about equally between animal and plant matter during the breeding season, but a limited number of fecal samples shows that during fall migration, they eat almost entirely fruits. The composition of their winter diet has not been documented.

They nest in a variety of woodlands, parks, roadsides, and yards, in trees, shrubs, and vines. The nest is a sparse cup of twigs, grass, and other plant matter. Eggs are generally laid between mid-May and mid-June. Clutches usually have four eggs.

On the whole, the breeding behavior and population dynamics of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are not well understood. It is unclear whether males and females form pairs before or after spring migration. We also do not know the exact dynamics of which sex or sexes select nest sites, based on what criteria. Most importantly, there remain major gaps in our understanding of what factors influence Rose-breasted Grosbeaks' breeding success and mortality in different habitat types and regions, as well as its distribution and ecology across its winter range.

Description: Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are medium-sized finches, measuring about 8 inches in length. Breeding male has black head, throat, and upperparts, with a rather complex arrangement of patches and spots of white in the wings. Rump is white; tail is black. Underparts are mostly white, with a distinctive rose-red triangular patch on the breast.

Plumage of adult female differs sharply from that of male. Female is subtly colored, with upperparts streaked brown and black. White wing markings much less distinct than in male. Head and face of adult female are mostly brown, with white stripes over eyes and through crown. Breast is white with brown streaks. Juveniles and nonbreeding males resemble females, with orange or faint rose-colored wash, respectively, across the breast and flanks. In these plumages, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are very difficult to distinguish visually from Black-headed Grosbeaks.

All Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have large, thick bills with curved culmens (upper ridges). Bill color is pale, nearly white in adult male.

Voice: Song is a long, melodious warble, with short phrases and short pauses. Call note is a high squeak, which differs markedly from Black-headed Grosbeak's flatter note.

Reference: Wyatt, V. E., and C. M. Francis. 2002. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus). In The Birds of North America, No. 692 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Recording Credit:
The recording of the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak was made by David L. Ross, MLNS collection. Recordings of the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak may be found on our Bird Songs Eastern/Central and Western Bird Songs CDs and tapes available at our online Cornell Lab Birding Shop.

The Birds of North America www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsofna is supported in part by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Copyright © 2003 Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology