Rose-breasted Grosbeak Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRose-breasted Grosbeak
Adult male
Stocky, medium-sized songbird with a very large triangular bill. Males have a distinctive red breast.
© Tom Snow / Macaulay LibraryNorth Carolina, April 30, 2017Female
Stocky, medium-sized songbird with a very large triangular bill. Females are heavily streaked above and below with a white eyebrow and a pale bill.
© James Kinderman / Macaulay LibraryWisconsin, May 13, 2017Adult male
Song is a long rising and falling series of notes with a very sweet quality.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 09, 2011Not all videos have sound
Immature male
Immature males look like a cross between a female and a male with a white eyebrow and a smaller red breast patch.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, September 12, 2016Adult male
Stocky songbird with a hefty triangular bill. From behind males have a white rump patch.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 24, 2014Adult male
Often comes to feeders, where it uses its very large, triangular bill to crack open seeds.
© Eric Liner / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 01, 2006Not all videos have sound
Female
Females are heavily streaked above and below with a white eyebrow and pale bill.
© Deborah Bifulco / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, May 01, 2017Adult male
Stocky songbird with a red breast and white belly.
© Tim Lenz / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 24, 2015Adult male
Usually gleans food from dense foliage and branches, often fairly high in trees. Eats insects, berries, and fresh buds, as well as seed from feeders.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 27, 2007Not all videos have sound
Female
Females are heavily streaked above and below. Note the white eyebrow and white wingbars.
© Yves Darveau / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 31, 2019Adult male
In flight, males have prominent white wing patches and show pink wing linings below.
© Karl Bardon / Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 17, 2020Female
Large, stocky bird with very large, thick bill. Note bold face pattern with strong whitish stripe over eye, and warm buffy wash to breast. This video has no audio.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 27, 2007Not all videos have sound
Adult male
Found in eastern forests and forest edges. Often sings from elevated perches.
© Austin Loewen / Macaulay LibraryConnecticut, May 16, 2017Similar SpeciesBlack-headed Grosbeak
Female/immature
Black-headed Grosbeaks overlap with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks only in the Great Plains. Female/immature Black-headed Grosbeaks usually have buffy-orange underparts with less streaking than Rose-breasted. They also tend to have a buffier eyebrow.
© Eric Gofreed / Macaulay LibraryArizona, April 26, 2017Similar SpeciesPurple Finch
Female/immature (Eastern)
Female/immature Purple Finches are considerably smaller than Rose-breasted Grosbeaks with a smaller bill.
© Scott Martin / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 14, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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