Photo by George Wall

This is a breeding adult that I saw in Sierra Vista, 6-28-09. We were able to get very close to take pictures.

Description:  The adult male is blue with brown wing bars. The flight feathers are dark brown to black. There is black in front of its eyes all the way down to its silvery beak. This is a medium sized songbird at 6.75 inches.

The female is brown all over.

Habitat:   They like riparian thickets, overgrown fields and orchards.

Nesting:  They nest in trees or vines and the nest can be made of just about any material. They have 2-3 and sometimes 4 broods with 2-5 eggs in the nest. They are monogamous.

Diet:   They eat seeds, snails and occasionally fruit.

Range: They are found across the southern United States from California to South Carolina where they breed in the summer. They winter from deep Mexico through Central America.

Interesting Facts: 

They sometimes use snakeskin as a nesting material.

They are collectively know as a Gross of Grosbeaks.