I hadn’t seen one of these pretty little birds before last spring and when I first spotted this guy through my living room window I initially thought he was perhaps bleeding from around the neck! But this is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) and his colouration is natural. All in all there are over 30 different ‘grosbeaks’ worldwide with seven found in North America. Rose-breasted grosbeaks are members of the cardinal family of birds and are usually found east of the Rockies, whilst most others on this continent are of the finch lineage and can also be geographically restricted. The term ‘grosbeak’, derived from archaic French, is said to mean ‘large beak’ – thus characterizing this species of bird for the appearance of their thick, oversized bills. (More grosbeaks can be seen in the ‘Birds Gallery‘).
