Black-headed Grosbeak Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBlack-headed Grosbeak
Adult male
Hefty songbird with a very thick conical bill. Adult males are rich orange-cinnamon with a black head and black-and-white wings.
© Bridget Spencer / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, May 24, 2020Female/immature
Relatively large-headed with a short, thick neck and a short tail that imparts a compact, chunky look. Females/immatures have warm orange or buff on the breast. Some have streaks on the sides of the breast.
© Diane Stinson / Macaulay LibraryAlberta, May 28, 2020Adult male
Thick-bodied songbird with a very large, triangular bill. Perches, sings and forages at middle and high levels in trees along edges.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 10, 2006Not all videos have sound
Female/immature
Chunky songbird with a hefty bill. Females/immatures are brown and streaky above with orangish underparts. Note buffy eyebrow and neck.
© Eric Ellingson / Macaulay LibraryWashington, July 09, 2016Female/immature
Females and immatures are warm buff on the undersides with a strongly striped head, huge bill, and brown-and-white back and wings.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, July 29, 1997Not all videos have sound
Female/immature
The amount of streaking on the underparts varies among individuals. This individual has streaked flanks. Note buffy eyebrow and neck, and bicolored bill (dark on top, pale on bottom).
© Jerry Ting / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, April 30, 2017Adult male
Adult males have a streaky black-and-orange back and black wings with white patches.
© Robert Hamilton / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 04, 2017Adult male
The whistled song rises and falls like an American Robin's, but is longer, sweeter, more varied, and less choppy in its phrases. Both males and females sing.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 01, 2006Not all videos have sound
Female/immature
Stocky songbird with a hefty bill. Females/immatures have a warm orange breast with variable amounts of streaking.
© Richard Bunn / Macaulay LibraryOregon, August 11, 2017Males and females/immatures
Often comes to backyard feeders to eat sunflower seeds; may also visit hummingbird or oriole feeders.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 10, 2006Not all videos have sound
Adult male
Found in mixed woodlands and edges, mountain forests, thickets along desert streams, backyards, and gardens.
© Curtis Mahon / Macaulay LibraryWashington, May 27, 2017Similar SpeciesRose-breasted Grosbeak
Female
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks only overlap with Black-headed Grosbeaks in the Great Plains. Female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks tend to have more streaking on a whiter breast, whereas female Black-headed have an orange-buffy breast without streaking in the center. They also tend to have a whiter eyebrow.
© James Kinderman / Macaulay LibraryWisconsin, May 13, 2017Similar SpeciesBlue Grosbeak
Female/immature
Female/immature Blue Grosbeaks lack the bold stripes on the head that female Black-headed Grosbeaks have.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryMaine, October 03, 2011Similar SpeciesSpotted Towhee
Adult male
Spotted Towhees have a considerably smaller bill and a longer tail than Black-headed Grosbeaks. The orange coloring is restrict to their sides unlike the fully orange belly on adult male Black-headed Grosbeaks.
© John Reynolds / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, February 10, 2017Similar SpeciesRed-winged Blackbird
Female (Red-winged)
Female Red-winged Blackbirds have a longer and more pointed bill than Black-headed Grosbeaks. Females also have bold streaking over the entire breast that female/immature Black-headed do not have.
© David Trescak / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, March 05, 2017Similar SpeciesBullock's Oriole
Adult male
Bullock’s Orioles are slimmer overall with a thinner bill than Black-headed Grosbeaks. Adult males are brighter orange than the more muted cinnamon-colored grosbeak.
© Shawn Billerman / Macaulay LibraryWyoming, May 11, 2015Similar SpeciesCassin's Finch
Female/immature
Female/immature Cassin's Finches have considerably smaller bills, more uniform brown streaking throughout, less white in the wings, and lack the female Black-headed Grosbeak’s buffy breast.
© Nigel Voaden / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 24, 2015Similar SpeciesPurple Finch
Female/immature (Western)
Female/immature Purple Finches have considerably smaller bills, more uniform brown streaking throughout, less white in the wings, and lack the female Black-headed Grosbeak’s buffy breast.
© Jeff Bleam / Macaulay LibraryNevada, February 01, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Cardinals and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Cardinalidae)
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