Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
DESCRIPTION
6-7 1/2" (15-19 cm). Slightly larger than a House Sparrow. Male dark blue with 2 chestnut wing bars and a stout, dark bill. Female dark buff-brown with 2 buff wing bars. Indigo Bunting similar, but is smaller, lacks wing bars.
VOICE
Sweet, jumbled warble. Also a metallic klink.
HABITAT
Brushy moist pastures and roadside thickets.
RANGE
Breeds from California, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, and New Jersey southward. Winters in tropics.
DISCUSSION
After breeding, small flocks of Blue Grosbeaks feed together or mix with other seed-eating birds such as sparrows. They also search out insects, especially grasshoppers, that live in the grassy vegetation of open fields.
NESTING
3 or 4 pale blue eggs in a loose cup of grass, weed stems, and leaves concealed in a clump of weeds.
