Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 7.9–9.8 in
20–25 cm - Wingspan
- 13 in
33 cm
Other Names
- Durbec des sapins (French)
- Camachuelo picogrueso (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The tameness and slow-moving behavior of the Pine Grosbeak gave rise to local name in Newfoundland of "mope."
- Winter flocks may stay near a tree with abundant fruit until all of it is consumed.
- Winter irruptions are infrequent and irregular. To see an illustration of the invasion of the winter 1997-98, based on data gathered through BirdSource's Winter Finch Survey, click here.
- A breeding adult Pine Grosbeak develops pouches in the floor of its mouth for carrying food to its young.
- During most of the year, 99% of diet is vegetable matter, especially buds, seeds, and fruits of spruce, pine, juniper, elm, maple, mountain ash, apple, and crabapple. It feeds insects and spiders to its young, though, often mixed with plant foods. It drinks water or eats snow daily.
Habitat
Open Woodland
- Breeds in open coniferous forests.
- Wintering areas determined by food availability, so found in wider variety of habitats, including urban areas.
Food
Seeds
Seeds, buds, fruit, some insects.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Pale blue with darker dots and markings
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked and helpless.
Nest Description
Open cup nest in tree
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Eats fruits by biting through and discarding the pulp and crushing the seed. Insects caught by clumsy flycatching. Eats sunflower seeds at feeders in parts of range (rarely comes to feeders in other parts of range).Found in flocks in winter; strongly territorial in breeding season. Distinctive call note often given in flight.
Conservation
Least Concern
Status largely unknown because of difficulty of assessing populations.
Credits
- 1.) Adkisson, C. S. 1999. Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator). in The Birds of North America, No. 456 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 2.) Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part I. Columbidae to Ploceidae. Slate Creek Press, Bolinas, CA.