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| − | [[Image:Blue-Grosbeak.jpg|thumb|500px|right|Photo by P. wilkinson]] | + | [[Image:Blue-Grosbeak.jpg|thumb|500px|right|Photo by {{user|P.+wilkinson|P. wilkinson}}<br/>Location: [[South Carolina]], [[USA]], May 2007]] |
;[[:Category:Passerina|Passerina]] caerulea | ;[[:Category:Passerina|Passerina]] caerulea | ||
| − | ''Guiraca caerulea'' | + | Formerly - ''Guiraca caerulea'' |
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
| − | L. 6 3/4" (17 cm) <br />'''Male''': | + | L. 6 3/4" (17 cm)<br/> |
| + | '''Male''': | ||
*Dark blue | *Dark blue | ||
*Rusty wing bars | *Rusty wing bars | ||
| Line 10: | Line 11: | ||
*Black face | *Black face | ||
'''Female''': | '''Female''': | ||
| − | * | + | *Buffy brown |
*Rusty wing-bars | *Rusty wing-bars | ||
| − | 1st winter birds are more rufous | + | '''Immature''' |
| + | Similar to female, but 1st winter birds are more rufous. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ====Similar Species==== | ||
| + | This large Cardinaline Bunting is often mistaken for an [[Indigo Bunting]], which does not have the rusty 'shoulders' seen as wing bars in flight, or the large beak as indicated by the name: grosbeak. Females are buffy brown with rusty colored median coverts. | ||
| + | [[Image:Fem Blue Grosbeak.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br/>Photo by {{user|bobsofpa|bobsofpa}}<br/>Location: [[Cape May NWR]], [[New Jersey]], [[USA]], Sept. 2008]] | ||
| + | |||
==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
Southern [[United States]] north to central [[California]], [[South Dakota]], southern [[Pennsylvania]] and southern [[New Jersey]]. Casual north of regular range. Winters south to [[Panama]]. | Southern [[United States]] north to central [[California]], [[South Dakota]], southern [[Pennsylvania]] and southern [[New Jersey]]. Casual north of regular range. Winters south to [[Panama]]. | ||
| + | |||
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
| − | Polytypic. Consists of seven subspecies. | + | Polytypic. Consists of seven subspecies: <sup>[[#References|1]]</sup> |
| + | |||
| + | *P. c. caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758) | ||
| + | *P. c. chiapensis (Nelson, 1898) | ||
| + | *P. c. deltarhyncha (Van Rossem, 1938) | ||
| + | *P. c. eurhyncha (Coues, 1874) | ||
| + | *P. c. interfusa (Dwight & Griscom, 1927) | ||
| + | *P. c. lazula (Lesson, 1842) | ||
| + | *P. c. salicaria (Grinnell, 1911) | ||
| + | |||
==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Shrubby fields, open habitat with scattered trees, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows. | Shrubby fields, open habitat with scattered trees, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows. | ||
| + | |||
==Behaviour== | ==Behaviour== | ||
| − | The diet includes insects, snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and fruits. | + | The diet includes insects, snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and fruits. Its large bill can manage large seeds, like corn, and large insects like grasshoppers. |
| + | |||
| + | The nest is built low in small trees and shrubs. It is a compact cup of bark, rootlets, twigs, and other fibrous material. 3-5 pale blue eggs, incubation takes 11-12 days, followed by fledging at 9-10 days. Blue Grosbeak nests are sometimes parasitized by [[Brown-headed Cowbird]]s. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | #[http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=726198 ITIS] | ||
| − | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
{{GSearch|Guiraca+caerulea}} | {{GSearch|Guiraca+caerulea}} | ||
Revision as of 20:29, 27 June 2009
- Passerina caerulea
Formerly - Guiraca caerulea
Identification
L. 6 3/4" (17 cm)
Male:
- Dark blue
- Rusty wing bars
- Large beak
- Black face
Female:
- Buffy brown
- Rusty wing-bars
Immature Similar to female, but 1st winter birds are more rufous.
Similar Species
This large Cardinaline Bunting is often mistaken for an Indigo Bunting, which does not have the rusty 'shoulders' seen as wing bars in flight, or the large beak as indicated by the name: grosbeak. Females are buffy brown with rusty colored median coverts.
Distribution
Southern United States north to central California, South Dakota, southern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Casual north of regular range. Winters south to Panama.
Taxonomy
Polytypic. Consists of seven subspecies: 1
- P. c. caerulea (Linnaeus, 1758)
- P. c. chiapensis (Nelson, 1898)
- P. c. deltarhyncha (Van Rossem, 1938)
- P. c. eurhyncha (Coues, 1874)
- P. c. interfusa (Dwight & Griscom, 1927)
- P. c. lazula (Lesson, 1842)
- P. c. salicaria (Grinnell, 1911)
Habitat
Shrubby fields, open habitat with scattered trees, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows.
Behaviour
The diet includes insects, snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and fruits. Its large bill can manage large seeds, like corn, and large insects like grasshoppers.
The nest is built low in small trees and shrubs. It is a compact cup of bark, rootlets, twigs, and other fibrous material. 3-5 pale blue eggs, incubation takes 11-12 days, followed by fledging at 9-10 days. Blue Grosbeak nests are sometimes parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds.
