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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
{{speciesbox
| image = Blue Grosbeak by Dan Pancamo.jpg
| image = Blue Grosbeak by Dan Pancamo.jpg
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| status = LC
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22723939/0 |title=''Passerina caerulea'' |author=BirdLife International |author-link=BirdLife International |year=2012 |access-date=26 November 2013|ref=harv}}</ref>
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Passerina caerulea'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22723939A132170886 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22723939A132170886.en |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Passerina
| genus = Passerina
| species = caerulea
| species = caerulea
Line 13: Line 14:
*''Guiraca caerulea'' {{small|(Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758)}}
*''Guiraca caerulea'' {{small|(Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758)}}
| range_map = Passerina caerulea map.svg
| range_map = Passerina caerulea map.svg
| range_map_caption =
{{leftlegend|#ff6600|Breeding}}
{{leftlegend|#ffd42a|Migration}}
{{leftlegend|#7137c8|Year-round}}
{{leftlegend|#5f8dd3|Nonbreeding}}
}}
}}


The '''blue grosbeak''' ('''''Passerina caerulea'''''), is a medium-sized North American [[passerine]] bird in the cardinal family [[Cardinalidae]]. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. The male is blue with two brown {{Birdgloss|wing bars}}. The female is mainly brown with scattered blue feathers on the upperparts and two brown wing bars.
The '''blue grosbeak''' (''Passerina caerulea''),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/banks/banks1.htm|title=Evolution of a Citation by Richard C. Banks - USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center|publisher=pwrc.usgs.gov}}</ref> is a medium-sized [[seed]]-eating [[bird]] in the same family as the [[northern cardinal]], "tropical" or New World buntings, and "cardinal-grosbeaks" or New World grosbeaks.


==Taxonomy==
The male blue grosbeak is deep blue, with both black and brown on its wings. The female is mostly brown. Both sexes are distinguished by their large, deep bill and double wing bars. These features, as well as the grosbeak's relatively larger size, distinguish this species from the [[indigo bunting]]. Length can range from {{convert|14|to|19|cm|in|abbr=on}} and wingspan is from {{convert|26|to|29|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Grosbeak/lifehistory|title=Blue Grosbeak|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=BD0343 |title=eNature: FieldGuides: Species Detail |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222015018/http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recnum=BD0343 |archivedate=2012-02-22 }}</ref> Body mass is typically from {{convert|26|to|31.5|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref>''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0849342585}}.</ref>
The blue grosbeak was [[Species description|formally described]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Loxia caerulea''.<ref name=linnaeus>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=175 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727082 }}</ref> The specific epithet ''caerulea'' is the Latin word for "blue", "azure-blue", "sky-blue" or "dark-blue".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=82 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his own description on the "blew gross-beak" described and illustrated by [[Mark Catesby]] in his ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands''. The book had been published in 1729–1732.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Catesby | first=Mark | author-link=Mark Catesby | year=1729–1732 | title=The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands | volume=1 | place=London | publisher=W. Innys and R. Manby | language=en, fr | page=39, Plate 39 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40753235 }}</ref> Catesby gave the location as Carolina and Linnaeus specified America. The [[type location (biology)|type location]] is now restricted to South Carolina.<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1970 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=13 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=241 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483476 }}</ref>


Some taxonomists placed the blue grosbeak in its own [[monotypic]] genus ''Guiraca'' but in 2001 a [[molecular phylogenetic]] study of mitochondrial DNA sequences found that the blue grosbeak, in spite of being physically larger, nested within the ''Passerina'' and was most closely related to the [[lazuli bunting]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Klicka | first1=J. | last2=Fry | first2=A.J. | last3=Zink | first3=R.M. | last4=Thompson | first4=C.W. | date=2001 | title=A cytochrome-''b'' perspective on ''Passerina'' bunting relationships | journal=Auk | volume=118 | issue=3 | pages=610–623 | doi=10.1093/auk/118.3.610 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The species is therefore now placed with the North American buntings in ''[[Passerina]]'', a genus that was introduced by the French ornithologist [[Louis Pierre Vieillot]] in 1816.<ref>{{cite book | last=Vieillot | first=Louis Pierre | author-link=Louis Pierre Vieillot | year=1816 | title=Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire | publisher=Deterville/self | location=Paris | page=30 | language=fr| url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9745205x/f36.image }}<!--BHL has a scan of an 1883 reprint - same pagination http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12830237 --></ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2020 | title=Cardinals, grosbeaks and (tanager) allies | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/cardinals/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=24 September 2020 }}</ref>
This is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds across most of the southern half of the United States and much of northern [[Mexico]], migrating south to [[Central America]] and in very small numbers to northern [[South America]]; the southernmost record comes from eastern [[Ecuador]]. It eats mostly insects, but it will also eat snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and wild fruits. The blue grosbeak forages on the ground and in shrubs and trees.


Seven [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
==Habitat==
* ''P. c. caerulea'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – southeast and south central USA
This species is found in partly open habitat with scattered trees, riparian woodland, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, or hedgerows. It nests in a low tree or bush or a tangle of vegetation, usually about {{convert|1|–|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} above ground, often at the edge of an open area.
* ''P. c. interfusa'' ([[Jonathan Dwight|Dwight]] & [[Ludlow Griscom|Griscom]], 1927) – west central USA and north Mexico
* ''P. c. salicaria'' ([[Joseph Grinnell|Grinnell]], 1911) – southwest USA and northwest Mexico
* ''P. c. eurhyncha'' ([[Elliott Coues|Coues]], 1874) – central and south Mexico
* ''P. c. chiapensis'' ([[Edward William Nelson|Nelson]], 1898) – south Mexico to Guatemala
* ''P. c. deltarhyncha'' ([[Adriaan Joseph van Rossem|Van Rossem]], 1938) – west Mexico
* ''P. c. lazula'' ([[René Lesson|Lesson, R]], 1842) – south Guatemala to northwest Costa Rica


==Description==
<gallery widths="154px" heights="200px" perrow="3" caption="Gallery" align=center>
The male blue grosbeak is deep blue, with both black and brown on its wings. The female is mostly brown. Both sexes are distinguished by their large, deep bill and double wing bars. These features, as well as the grosbeak's relatively larger size, distinguish this species from the [[indigo bunting]]. Length can range from {{convert|14|to|19|cm|in|abbr=on}} and wingspan is from {{convert|26|to|29|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Grosbeak/lifehistory|title=Blue Grosbeak}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=BD0343 |title=eNature: FieldGuides: Species Detail |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222015018/http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recnum=BD0343 |archive-date=2012-02-22 }}</ref> Body mass is typically from {{convert|26|to|31.5|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref>''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), {{ISBN|978-0849342585}}.</ref>
Image:Guiraca caeruleaAAP086CB.jpg|Male (upper), female (lower)
Image:Blue grosbeak.jpg|alt=Blue Grosbeak in Birds of America|Blue Grosbeak in ''Birds of America''
</gallery>
== References ==<!-- Condor108:963 -->
{{Reflist}}


==Distribution and habitat==
==Further reading==
This is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds across most of the southern half of the United States and much of northern [[Mexico]], migrating south to [[Central America]] and in very small numbers to northern [[South America]]; the southernmost record comes from eastern [[Ecuador]].


This species is found in partly open habitat with scattered trees, riparian woodland, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, or hedgerows.
===Book===


==Behaviour and ecology==
* Ingold, J. L. 1993. ''Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca caerulea)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 79 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
===Breeding===
The blue grosbeak nests in a low tree or bush or a tangle of vegetation, usually about {{convert|1|–|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} above ground, often at the edge of an open area.<ref name=bent>{{ Cite journal | last1=Bent | first1=Arthur Cleveland | author1-link=Arthur Cleveland Bent | last2=Austin | first2=Oliver L. Jr. | author2-link=Oliver L. Austin | year=1968 | title=Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies | journal=Bulletin of the United States National Museum | volume=Part 1 | series=Bulletin of the United States National Museum 237 | issue=237 | location=Washington DC | publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press | doi=10.5479/si.03629236.237.1 | doi-access= | pages=67–80 }}</ref>


===Thesis===
===Feeding===
It eats mostly insects, but it will also eat snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and wild fruits. The blue grosbeak forages mainly on the ground.<ref name=bow>{{cite journal | last1=Lowther | first1=P.E. | last2=Ingold | first2=J.L. | year=2020 | title=Blue Grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea''), version 1.0 | editor-last=Poole | editor-first=A.F. | journal=Birds of the World | location=Ithaca, NY, USA | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | doi=10.2173/bow.blugrb1.01 | url=https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blugrb1.01 | access-date=25 September 2020 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>


==Gallery==
* Klicka JT. Ph.D. (1999). ''A molecular perspective on the evolution of North American songbirds''. University of Minnesota, United States—Minnesota.
<gallery>
* Moorman CE. Ph.D. (1999). ''Relationships between artificially created gaps and breeding birds in a southeastern bottomland forest''. Clemson University, United States—South Carolina.
Image:Guiraca caeruleaAAP086CB.jpg|Male (upper), female (lower)
Image:Blue grosbeak.jpg|alt=Blue Grosbeak in Birds of America|Blue Grosbeak in ''Birds of America''
Immature male blue grosbeak (41736).jpg|Immature male with partially blue face and tail
</gallery>


===Articles===
== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* Adolphson DG. (1969). ''Blue Grosbeak at Lost Creek Tripp County''. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol '''21''', no 4.
* Alsop FJ, III. (1979). ''Mantids Tenodera-Aridisolia Selected as Prey by Blue Grosbeaks Guiraca-Caerulea''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''91''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;131–132.
* Ballentine B, Badyaev A & Hill GE. (2003). ''Changes in song complexity correspond to periods of female fertility in blue grosbeaks (Guiraca caerulea)''. Ethology. vol '''109''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;55–66.
* Ballentine B & Hill GE. (2003). ''Female mate choice in relation to structural plumage coloration in Blue Grosbeaks''. Condor. vol '''105''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;593–598.
* Brauning DW, Brittingham MC, Gross DA, Leberman RC, Master TL & Mulvihill RS. (1994). ''Pennsylvania breeding birds of special concern: A listing rational and status update''. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science. vol '''68''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;3–28.
* Brennan SP & Schnell GD. (2005). ''Relationship between bird abundances and landscape characteristics: The influence of scale''. Environ Monit Assess. vol '''105''', no 1–3. pp.&nbsp;209–228.
* Brown BT. (1994). ''Rates of brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds on Riparian Passerines in Arizona''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '''65''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;160–168.
* Carter JH, III & Wintyen MK. (1972). ''Blue Grosbeak and Painted Bunting at Southern-Pines North-Carolina in Winter''. Chat. vol '''36''', no 2.
* Conner RN & Dickson JG. (1997). ''Relationships between bird communities and forest age, structure, species composition and fragmentation in the West Gulf Coastal Plain''. Texas Journal of Science. vol '''49''', no 3 SUPPL. pp.&nbsp;123–138.
* Conner RN, Dickson JG, Williamson JH & Ortego B. (2004). ''Width of forest streamside zones and breeding bird abundance in eastern Texas''. Southeastern Naturalist. vol '''3''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;669–682.
* Cook AG. (1984). ''Birds of the Desert Region of Uintah County Utah USA''. Great Basin Naturalist. vol '''44''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;584–620.
* Eckert K. (1975). ''Possible Blue Grosbeak Nesting at Blue Mounds State Park''. Loon. vol '''47''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;47–48.
* Elliott PF. (1978). ''Cowbird Parasitism in the Kansas USA Tall Grass Prairie''. Auk. vol '''95''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;161–167.
* Eltzroth MS & Jarvis RL. (1976). ''Sight Record of a Blue Grosbeak in Oregon''. Murrelet. vol '''57''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;44–46.
* Estep LK, Mays H, Jr., Keyser AJ, Ballentine B & Hill GE. (2005). ''Effects of breeding density and plumage coloration on mate guarding and cuckoldry in blue grosbeaks (Passerina caerulea)''. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol '''83''', no 9. pp.&nbsp;1143–1148.
* Genung WG. (1976). ''Blue Grosbeak Breeds in the Florida Everglades''. Florida Field Naturalist. vol '''4''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;5–7.
* Gochfeld M, Gochfeld R, Kleinbaum M & Tudor G. (1974). ''Sight Record of a Blue Grosbeak Guiraca-Caerulea New-Record in Colombia''. American Birds. vol '''28''', no 5.
* Haas KH & Haas CA. (2001). ''Third breeding record of blue grosbeak in North Dakota''. Prairie Naturalist. vol '''33''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;41–43.
* Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
* Igl LD. (1996). ''A noteworthy record and the breeding distribution of the blue grosbeak in North Dakota''. Prairie Naturalist. vol '''27''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;205–210.
* Jensen J. (1971). ''Blue Grosbeak Nest in Wisconsin''. Passenger Pigeon. vol '''33''', no 2.
* Johnson JW & Johnson L. (1969). ''Blue Grosbeak at Huron''. South Dakota Bird Notes. vol '''22''', no 3.
* Kaufman K. (1989). ''Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting''. American Birds. vol '''43''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;385–388.
* Keyser AJ & Hill GE. (1999). ''Condition-dependent variation in the blue-ultraviolet coloration of a structurally based plumage ornament''. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B. vol '''266''', no 1421. pp.&nbsp;771–777.
* Keyser AJ & Hill GE. (2000). ''Structurally based plumage coloration is an honest signal of quality in male blue grosbeaks''. Behavioral Ecology. vol '''11''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;202–209.
* Klicka J, Fry AJ, Zink RM & Thompson CW. (2001). ''A cytochrome-b perspective on Passerina bunting relationships''. Auk. vol '''118''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;611–623.
* Luwe WR. (1974). ''Blue Grosbeak in Blue Earth County''. Loon. vol '''46''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;120–121.
* Maly B. (1976). ''The Blue Grosbeak in Bucks County''. Cassinia. vol '''56''', pp.&nbsp;25–26.
* McNair DB, Massiah EB & Frost MD. (1999). ''New and rare species of Nearctic landbird migrants during autumn for Barbados and the Lesser Antilles''. Caribbean Journal of Science. vol '''35''', no 1–2. pp.&nbsp;46–53.
* Mjos AT. (2002). ''Re-examination of older records and changes to the Norwegian list''. Ornis Norvegica. vol '''25''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;64–92.
* Olson SL, Pregill GK & Hilgartner WB. (1990). ''Studies on Fossil and Extant Vertebrates from San Salvador Watling's Island Bahamas West Indies''. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. vol '''508''', pp.&nbsp;1–15.
* Post W. (1998). ''Blue grosbeak dustbathing''. Florida Field Naturalist. vol '''26''', no 4.
* Powell BF & Steidl RJ. (2002). ''Habitat selection by riparian songbirds breeding in southern Arizona''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol '''66''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;1096–1103.
* Powers L. (1969). ''Sight Record of the Blue Grosbeak in Idaho''. Murrelet. vol '''50''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;20–21.
* Powers L. (1971). ''Blue Grosbeak in Idaho''. Murrelet. vol '''52''', no 2.
* Rich T & Trentlage B. (1981). ''2nd Breeding Locale for the Blue Grosbeak Guiraca-Caerulea in Idaho USA''. Murrelet. vol '''62''', no 3. pp.&nbsp;91–92.
* Risch TS & Robinson TJ. (2006). ''First observation of cavity nesting by a female Blue Grosbeak''. Wilson Journal of Ornithology. vol '''118''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;107–108.
* Rosenberg KV, Ohmart RD & Anderson BW. (1982). ''Community Organization of Riparian Breeding Birds Response to an Annual Resource Peak''. Auk. vol '''99''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;260–274.
* Spicer GS. (1978). ''A New Species and Several New Host Records of Avian Nasal Mites Acarina Rhinonyssinae Turbinoptinae''. Journal of Parasitology. vol '''64''', no 5. pp.&nbsp;891–894.
* Stewart PA. (1968). ''Bird Migration through an Abandoned Farmstead Richmondena-Cardinalis Behavior Dendroica-Palmarum Guiraca-Caerulea Spizella-Passerina''. Chat. vol '''32''', no 4.
* Tamplin JW, Demasters JW, Remsen JV & Jr. (1993). ''Biochemical and morphometric relationships among some members of the Cardinalinae''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''105''', no 1. pp.&nbsp;93–113.
* Whitehead MA, Schweitzer SH & Post W. (2000). ''Impact of brood parasitism on nest survival parameters and seasonal fecundity of six songbird species in southeastern old-field habitat''. Condor. vol '''102''', no 4. pp.&nbsp;946–950.
* Whitmore RC. (1977). ''Habitat Partitioning in a Community of Passerine Birds''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''89''', no 2. pp.&nbsp;253–265.


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Passerina caerulea|blue grosbeak}}
{{Commons category|Passerina caerulea|blue grosbeak}}
{{Wikispecies|Passerina caerulea}}
{{Wikispecies|Passerina caerulea}}
* [https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Passerina-caerulea Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the blue grosbeak]
*[http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue_Grosbeak.html Blue grosbeak species account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
*[https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Grosbeak Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All About Birds: Blue grosbeak]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060509110242/http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mbrooks/pif/Bird%20Profiles/blue_grosbeak.htm Blue grosbeak profile at North Carolina Partners in Flight]
*[https://ebird.org/species/blugrb1 eBird: Blue grosbeak]
*[http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5970id.html Blue grosbeak - ''Guiraca caerulea''] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
*[http://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/songbird-pictures.html Picture of a blue grosbeak in hand]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110106015305/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/wwwsounds/birds/hardy91sh.wav Blue grosbeak bird sound] at Florida Museum of Natural History
*{{InternetBirdCollection|blue-grosbeak-passerina-caerulea|Blue grosbeak}}
*{{VIREO|Blue+Grosbeak|Blue grosbeak}}
*{{VIREO|Blue+Grosbeak|Blue grosbeak}}
*{{IUCN_Map|22723939|Passerina caerulea}}


{{Taxonbar|from=Q794337}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q794337}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:grosbeak, blue}}
[[Category:Passerina|blue grosbeak]]
[[Category:Passerina|blue grosbeak]]
[[Category:Birds of the United States]]
[[Category:Birds of the United States]]

Latest revision as of 00:39, 22 April 2024

Blue grosbeak
Adult male
Adult female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae
Genus: Passerina
Species:
P. caerulea
Binomial name
Passerina caerulea
  Breeding
  Migration
  Year-round
  Nonbreeding
Synonyms
  • Loxia caerulea Linnaeus, 1758
  • Guiraca caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758)

The blue grosbeak (Passerina caerulea), is a medium-sized North American passerine bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. The male is blue with two brown wing bars. The female is mainly brown with scattered blue feathers on the upperparts and two brown wing bars.

Taxonomy

[edit]

The blue grosbeak was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia caerulea.[2] The specific epithet caerulea is the Latin word for "blue", "azure-blue", "sky-blue" or "dark-blue".[3] Linnaeus based his own description on the "blew gross-beak" described and illustrated by Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. The book had been published in 1729–1732.[4] Catesby gave the location as Carolina and Linnaeus specified America. The type location is now restricted to South Carolina.[5]

Some taxonomists placed the blue grosbeak in its own monotypic genus Guiraca but in 2001 a molecular phylogenetic study of mitochondrial DNA sequences found that the blue grosbeak, in spite of being physically larger, nested within the Passerina and was most closely related to the lazuli bunting.[6] The species is therefore now placed with the North American buntings in Passerina, a genus that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816.[7][8]

Seven subspecies are recognised:[8]

  • P. c. caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) – southeast and south central USA
  • P. c. interfusa (Dwight & Griscom, 1927) – west central USA and north Mexico
  • P. c. salicaria (Grinnell, 1911) – southwest USA and northwest Mexico
  • P. c. eurhyncha (Coues, 1874) – central and south Mexico
  • P. c. chiapensis (Nelson, 1898) – south Mexico to Guatemala
  • P. c. deltarhyncha (Van Rossem, 1938) – west Mexico
  • P. c. lazula (Lesson, R, 1842) – south Guatemala to northwest Costa Rica

Description

[edit]

The male blue grosbeak is deep blue, with both black and brown on its wings. The female is mostly brown. Both sexes are distinguished by their large, deep bill and double wing bars. These features, as well as the grosbeak's relatively larger size, distinguish this species from the indigo bunting. Length can range from 14 to 19 cm (5.5 to 7.5 in) and wingspan is from 26 to 29 cm (10 to 11 in).[9][10] Body mass is typically from 26 to 31.5 g (0.92 to 1.11 oz).[11]

Distribution and habitat

[edit]

This is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds across most of the southern half of the United States and much of northern Mexico, migrating south to Central America and in very small numbers to northern South America; the southernmost record comes from eastern Ecuador.

This species is found in partly open habitat with scattered trees, riparian woodland, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, or hedgerows.

Behaviour and ecology

[edit]

Breeding

[edit]

The blue grosbeak nests in a low tree or bush or a tangle of vegetation, usually about 1–2.5 m (3.3–8.2 ft) above ground, often at the edge of an open area.[12]

Feeding

[edit]

It eats mostly insects, but it will also eat snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and wild fruits. The blue grosbeak forages mainly on the ground.[13]

[edit]
  • Male (upper), female (lower)
    Male (upper), female (lower)
  • Blue Grosbeak in Birds of America
    Blue Grosbeak in Birds of America
  • Immature male with partially blue face and tail
    Immature male with partially blue face and tail

References

[edit]
  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Passerina caerulea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22723939A132170886. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22723939A132170886.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 175.
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ Catesby, Mark (1729–1732). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (in English and French). Vol. 1. London: W. Innys and R. Manby. p. 39, Plate 39.
  5. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 241.
  6. ^ Klicka, J.; Fry, A.J.; Zink, R.M.; Thompson, C.W. (2001). "A cytochrome-b perspective on Passerina bunting relationships". Auk. 118 (3): 610–623. doi:10.1093/auk/118.3.610.
  7. ^ Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1816). Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire (in French). Paris: Deterville/self. p. 30.
  8. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Cardinals, grosbeaks and (tanager) allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Blue Grosbeak".
  10. ^ "eNature: FieldGuides: Species Detail". Archived from the original on 2012-02-22.
  11. ^ CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN 978-0849342585.
  12. ^ Bent, Arthur Cleveland; Austin, Oliver L. Jr. (1968). "Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 237. Part 1 (237). Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press: 67–80. doi:10.5479/si.03629236.237.1.
  13. ^ Lowther, P.E.; Ingold, J.L. (2020). Poole, A.F. (ed.). "Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.blugrb1.01. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
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