I took these pictures in the Weaselhead/South Glenmore area on Friday June 17. I have seen male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks there before so I assumed this was a female Rose-breasted, but it’s possible that it is a Black-headed Grosbeak or hybrid, or a juvenile. All opinions on its ID are welcome in the comments.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Gus Yaki emailed me to say that he would call it a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, based primarily on the pale bill. However, he added that there were a couple of things that cause him to speculate that it may have had a Black-headed Grosbeak or a hybrid as a grandparent: The dark head is untypical of a female RBGR at this time of year, and it has fine streaks on the breast like a BHGR and unlike the coarse streaks of a RBGR [it was the streaks that had me wondering]. But he adds that the buffy yellow underwing colour argues for Rose-breasted.
Bob Lefebvre
Ahem. Photo Feathers? Yes, your bird ID is correct.
Hi Linda – Pat Bumstead here. I knew that Photo Feathers title sounded familiar from somewhere…imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..:-) Thanks for the the ID confirmation.
Looks like a female Rose-breasted to me – Black-headed should have a dark beak. I try to steer clear of playing “match the photo” but if you have the new Stokes Field Guide, take a look at the bottom left picture on page 706. Your shots are very nice by the way!