Look for our April Bird of the Month, the handsome Rose-Breasted Grosbeak to arrive here from Central and South America toward the very end of the month into early May.

The males are striking birds with dark black heads, backs and wings, white wing patches, and a white belly with faint black spots, and a very large pale-yellow beak. True to its name, it sports a brilliant bib on its upper breast ranging in shade from crimson to rose. Females are much more discreet, except for the large triangular beak, looking almost nothing like the males, but perfectly camouflaged for the kinds of shrubby thickets and deciduous woodlands where it nests. Females are brownish above and pale yellow to cream below, and heavily streaked both above and below. They have faint white wing patches and a white streak over their eyes and across the top of their face. Females are often confused with female red-winged blackbirds, but the blackbird is a slightly smaller bird, with a less massive, more pointed beak, usually found in and around marsh habitat.
Despite having such a massive and powerful beak that we often associate with seed eating, rose-breasted grosbeaks eat mostly insects and berries while they are here in North America, mostly gleaning them from foliage high up in woodland trees. However, rose-breasted grosbeaks adore black oil and striped sunflower seeds, peanut pieces, and cracked corn, and will visit hopper, tray, fly-through and large tube feeders regularly from spring through early September, often becoming daily visitors to backyard feeding stations.

During summer the males spend much of their time high up in trees gleaning insects and berries and can be difficult to see after trees are fully leafed out. Nesting happens lower down, usually in the crook of a shrub or sapling, but the females are well camouflaged and likewise hard to see. Nests are thinly constructed and if you are lucky enough to spot one, you can often glimpse the eggs through the bottom of the nest. Their songs and calls are some of the most distinctive sounds of summer in the woodlands. Both males and females sing a rich, sweetly whistled song, like an American Robin’s song, but sweeter and more melodious. Sometimes their chips and calls can be mistaken for those of a Baltimore oriole which often shares the same habitat. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are one of few bird species reported to sing while sitting on the nest. Both males and females share in incubating eggs.

As we write this in late March, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks have already arrived on the Gulf coast, and a few have been reported as far north as Tennessee. By the end of the month the first will start arriving here and showing up at feeders. Make sure you have a plentiful supply of black oil sunflower seeds and maybe some live mealworms to entice them to stick around!

Share your photos of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks at your feeders with us in-store or on our Facebook! or Instagram pages!