Grosbeak at the feeder.

I was quite excited to see this beautiful male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the farm bird feeder yesterday. I have seen pictures of them before but never have seen one in person. It seemed quite happy to be eating the fine sunflower chips that were well stocked in the feeder. So my quest was started to learn more about grosbeaks and share some of that knowledge with you.

Fact 1: Not all "grosbeaks" are closely related. I was surprised to learn that Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Black-headed Grosbeaks and Blue Grosbeaks are members of the cardinal family but Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Grosbeaks are classified as members of the finch family. However all of these birds have a few things in common, namely their medium stocky size and more importantly their strong large conical shaped bills, which are excellent for cracking large seeds. These large beaks are the source of the name "grosbeak" from the French word grosbec.

Fact 2: Different types of grosbeaks have different ranges. We are not likely to see a Blue Grosbeak here in Canada, as it is an uncommon bird who's range is primarily the southern part of the States and South America. However, Myrna Pearman, in her book "Winter Bird Feeding - An Alberta Guide" describes Pine Grosbeaks as "common feeder visitors to northern and central Alberta feeders in areas with coniferous trees". In fact the Pine Grosbeak's range covers much of Canada.

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is more likely to be spotted in Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, the very south part of Manitoba and Ontario and is not commonly found in the lower mainland of BC. While the Evening Grosbeak is supposed to be found commonly across Canada (although I have never seen one) and finally the Black-headed Grosbeak is only in Canada in the summer months and only found in southern BC, southern Alberta and the SW corner of Manitoba.

Fact 3: Grosbeaks are insect eaters but will also eat seed. With their large beaks, grosbeaks can eat large insects as well as small, consuming in some cases even whole grasshoppers and crickets and some butterflies and moths. However, grosbeaks do enjoy eating seed and fruit. On the seed front, sunflower is a favorite and they are not challenged by the tough shell of a striped sunflower, so striped sunflower offered from a tray feeder or a feeder with a large perch is a good choice for these types of birds.

Fact 4: For more information on a specific type of grosbeak see the online bird guide at www.allaboutbirds.org. This guide offers excellent information on how to identify birds, their travel ranges, and other unique details about them.