Black-headed Grosbeak

Black-headed Grosbeak, male

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Black-headed Grosbeak, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A common and familiar bird of the American West, the Black-headed Grosbeak can be found in mountain forests, along desert streams, or in backyards and gardens. The male and female differ greatly in their plumage, with the male being a flashy black, white, and cinnamon, and the female a drab buff and brown.

Description

• Medium-sized, stocky songbird.
• Large, thick, bicolored, cone-shaped bill.
• White flash in wings in flight.
• Male distinctive with black face, orangish chest, belly, nape, and rump.

• Size: 18-19 cm (7-7 in)
• Wingspan: 32 cm (13 in)
• Weight: 35-49 g (1.24-1.73 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male strikingly colored, with black head, rusty chest, and black-and-white wings. Female streaked brown and white.

Sound

Song a series of rapidly ascending and descending notes separated by brief pauses. Call note a sharp "chink."

Conservation Status

Common. Populations generally slightly increasing.

Other Names

Cardinal à tête noire (French)
Tigrillo, Frío (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• Despite his showy plumage, the male Black-headed Grosbeak shares about equally with the female in incubating eggs and feeding young.
• The nest of the Black-headed Grosbeak is widely reported to be so thinly constructed that eggs can be seen through bottom. However, nests are less thin in northern California. Thin nests may provide ventilation and help keep them cool.

• The female Black-headed Grosbeak commonly sings. The female song is generally a simplified version of the male song. Occasionally, the female sings full "male" song, apparently to deceive its mate about the presence of intruders and force him to spend more time at the nest.

• The male Black-headed Grosbeak does not get its adult breeding plumage until it is two years old. First-year males can vary from looking like a female to looking nearly like an adult male. Only yearling males that most closely resemble adult males are able to defend a territory and attempt to breed.

Sources used to construct this page:

Hill, G. E. 1995. Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus). In The Birds of North Americaa, No. 143 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.