A summer visitor to New Mexico, the Black-headed Grosbeak has a very distinctive beak that it uses to forage and make short work of devouring berries, peanut kernels, insects and fruits. This finch is stocky in appearance with black-streaked, orange-brown back and black head, wings and tail. Breast is orange-brown and belly is yellow. Females and juveniles have the white-streaked eye brow details. I was able to identify the female in the photos below because of the white streaks and its dullness.
This female landed in a large juniper tree on May 1st in our Aldea backyard. The lone female, duller than the male, was very interested in the sunflower chips and nuts of one of the seed cylinders we have. I don’t think this bird was here longer than 15 minutes and probably was migrating on through. We have not seen one since May 1st.
It is interesting to note that there are many migratory birds passing through Aldea right now. We also had a Bullock’s or a Hooded Oriole, with its stunning black and orange plumage, zip through the front yard this morning, too fast for me to grab my camera, photograph, and then complete a definitive identification. Luckily, I was able to catch this female Black-headed Grosbeak as I had not seen one here in Aldea since moving here in 2014.
The Black-headed Grosbeak is one of the few birds that can safely eat the poisonous monarch butterfly. The summer range of the Black-headed Grosbeak extends across the entire western U.S. and on up into the very southern parts of Canada. The spend their winters in Mexico.
A group of grosbeaks is known as a “gross” of grosbeaks.
Click on photos to enlarge.
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