Blue Grosbeak

(Passerina caerulea)

Information
Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Sightings

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Jonathan Strandjord

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5B - Secure Breeding

SNRB - Unranked Breeding

Minnesota

not listed

Description

Male upper parts and underparts are deep blue. The bill is large, cone-shaped, and pale gray. There is black aroud the base of the bill. The wings are black with two rusty wing bars. The female is brown with a white throat, rusty wing bars, a small blue patch on the shoulder, and a blue wash on the rump.

Size

Total length: 6″ to 7½″

Wingspan: 11″

Voice

The song is a rich, musical, warble, with notes that rise and fall, lasting 2 to 3 seconds.

Similar Species

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) is smaller. There are no wing bars. The bill is much smaller.

Habitat

Areas with thick shrubs, scattered trees, and open areas; riparian woodlands, weedy old fields.

Ecology

Migration

Nesting

Nests in dense tangle in a low bush or tree, 4 to 13 feet off the ground, often at the edge of an opening.

Food

Mostly insects, but also spiders, seeds, and fruits. Occasionally visits feeders.

Distribution

Occurrence

Rare migrant and breeder

The nesting range of this species barely extends into the southwest corner of Minnesota, with accidental sightings east to the Twin Cities metro area. The range is expanding northward and eastward, possibly due to warming climate.

Maps

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Taxonomy

Class

Aves (birds)

Order

Passeriformes (perching birds)

Family

Cardinalidae (cardinals and allies)

Genus

Passerina (North American buntings)

Genus
This species was originally (1758) named by Linnaeus Coccothraustes caerulea. In 1886 the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) named it Loxia caerulea. In 1998 the AOU transferred it to a monotypic genus and it became Guiraca caerulea. Mitochondrial DNA analysis in 2001 showed that it belongs in the genus with the buntings, and in 2002 it became Passerina caerulea.