Blue Grosbeak Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBlue Grosbeak
Breeding male
Stocky songbird with a very large, triangular bill that seems to cover its entire face. Breeding males are deep blue overall with chestnut wingbars.
© Cliff Peterson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 21, 2015Female/immature male
Stocky fincklike songbird with a hefty bill. Females/immatures are cinnamon overall with brown wingbars. Note unstreaked underparts.
© Jerry Callaway / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, March 02, 2017Nonbreeding male
Full-bodied with a large triangular-shaped bill. Nonbreeding males are patchy blue and cinnamon overall with chestnut wingbars.
© David Disher / Macaulay LibraryNorth Carolina, May 02, 2006Breeding male
Sings a warbling song while perched at high points in shrubs and small trees. Combination of large bill and deep blue color with chestnut wingbars is distinctive.
© Brad Imhoff / Macaulay LibraryOhio, July 30, 2018Female/immature male
Females/immatures are cinnamon brown overall with brown wingbars and unstreaked underparts. Note large triangular-shaped bill.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 23, 2017Breeding male
Found in old fields, hedgerows, and scrubby areas that are starting to grow back into woodlands. In drier regions, often found in shrubby areas along watercourses.
© Gordon Dimmig / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, June 26, 2013Breeding male and female/immature
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 23, 1997Similar SpeciesIndigo Bunting
Breeding male
Indigo Buntings are smaller than Blue Grosbeaks, with smaller, rounded heads and much smaller bills. They also lack the Blue Grosbeak’s obvious wingbar.
© mark kraus / Macaulay LibraryOhio, May 09, 2014Similar SpeciesIndigo Bunting
Female/immature
Indigo Buntings are smaller with a much smaller bill than Blue Grosbeaks. Females/immatures tend to have faintly streaked underparts unlike the unstreaked and darker bellied female/immature Blue Grosbeaks.
© David Forsyth / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 17, 2016Similar SpeciesLazuli Bunting
Breeding male
Lazuli Buntings are smaller with much smaller bills than Blue Grosbeaks. Breeding males are sky blue with an orange breast whereas adult male Blue Grosbeaks are deep blue overall with rusty wingbars.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryBritish Columbia, May 28, 2017Similar SpeciesLazuli Bunting
Female/immature
Lazuli Buntings are smaller with much smaller bills than Blue Grosbeaks. Females have buffy wingbars and paler bellies unlike female Blue Grosbeaks, which have brown wingbars and darker bellies.
© Marlene Cashen / Macaulay LibraryWashington, August 20, 2017Similar SpeciesBrown-headed Cowbird
Female
Female Brown-headed Cowbirds lack wingbars and are paler and grayish below compared to female/immature Blue Grosbeaks, which have brown wingbars and are pale rusty below.
© Arlene Ripley / Macaulay LibraryArizona, July 02, 2017Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Cardinals and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Cardinalidae)
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