May 15, 2014 | Featured Web Article

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a Welcome Backyard Visitor

A medium-sized songbird with a large, seed-crushing bill, the rose-breasted grosbeak spends the breeding season in deciduous woods across the northern portions of North America. It winters in the Neotropics.
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If you live in eastern North America, now is a great time to be watching for rose-breasted grosbeaks in your backyard. These colorful, cardinal-sized songbirds pass through backyards across the southeastern United States en route to their breeding grounds farther north. They spend the winters in the Neotropics and fly across the Gulf of Mexico each spring to breed.

If you live in the northern portions of North America, you may be lucky enough to host rose-breasted grosbeaks throughout the summer. These birds prefer mature deciduous forests for breeding. Learn to recognize the male's warbling, robin-like song »

Here is a video of a few rose-breasted grosbeaks chowing down at a feeding station in southern West Virginia in early May 2014. Grosbeaks eat black-oil and striped sunflower seeds at feeders.

Two male (center and far right) and one female (far left) rose-breasted grosbeaks at a backyard bird feeder in West Virginia.

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