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Found in forest edges and woodlands, this charming fellow with a red cravat helps out around the house and sounds like an extra-cheery robin.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is named in honour of its enormous beak (from the French grosbec, which means big beak), yet the bird’s classy black-and-white attire with a striking raspberry triangle on its chest is what makes it so unforgettable. The red patch even earned the grosbeak the nickname “cut-throat.” As is the case with most songbirds, the female is a more subdued brown with streaks on her breast and a bold beige eye stripe. However, the cone-shaped pale pink bill is identical on both species, as are the gleaming white stripes on their wings and tail.
Operatic Divas
The stocky, robust songbird is an accomplished vocalist. Both male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks sing melodious phrases that have more flourish than an American Robin, and birders often describe the bird as a very cheerful robin who’s taken singing lessons. Male grosbeaks sing loudly and insistently to mark their territory, attract a female and fend off intruders.
All They Can Eat
Although the formidable bill of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak would have us believe that they are exclusively seed-eaters, their diet is in fact omnivorous. In addition to a wide variety of seeds, they also eat insects and fruit. During migration, they mostly glean food from leaves and branches and devour insects midair. They feed their young a protein-rich diet of crushed beetles, caterpillars, moths, spiders, and other delectable insects.
Family Life
Once male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks bond, they remain monogamous throughout the breeding season. Both males and females participate in nest building and grosbeaks are one of the very few bird species that sing while sitting on the nest. Males help with nest incubating and with the feeding and rearing of their young. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks typically lay four eggs and the young can fly 9-12 days after hatching. However, they remain dependent on their parents for three weeks post-fledging and the family usually remains together as a unit until it’s time to migrate.
Seeing Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in Toronto:
Arrival date: early May
Departure date: late September
Where to see them: look for them singing their hearts out in the tops of trees, in parks such as Tommy Thompson Park, Ashbridges Bay, and Colonel Samuel Smith Park. Grosbeaks also frequently come to backyard bird feeders.
