Blue grosbeak Guiraca caerulea

Identification Tips:

• Length: 6.25 inches
• Large, conical bill
• Broad, brown wing bars
• Occasionally wags tail

Adult male:

• Deep blue plumage (in poor light appears black)
• Black around base of bill
• Blackish wings and tail

Adult female:

• Dark brown upperparts
• Warm brown underparts with faint dark streaks
• Blackish wings and tail
• Immature plumages similar to adult female

Similar species:

The Blue Grosbeak is very similar to the Indigo Bunting but is larger with brown wing bars.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.