The female Black-headed Grosbeak is a medium-sized songbird with a distinct plumage. Like the male, the female has a large conical beak suited for crushing seeds and hard fruits. However, unlike the striking black, white and orange male, the female has more subtle earthy brown plumage. She can be identified by her streaked brown back, buff underparts with brown streaking, warm brown crown and facial markings, and large whitish bill.
Size and Shape
The female Black-headed Grosbeak is a stocky songbird with a thick neck and large bill. She measures 16 to 18 cm long with a wingspan of 26 to 29 cm and weighs between 39 to 49 g. Her large conical bill is thick and suited for crushing seeds and fruits.
The female has a rounded head which often appears flattened on top due to her short crest which she raises and lowers. Her wings are broad and rounded and her tail is long and graduated. She has sturdy legs and feet suited for perching.
Plumage
The female Black-headed Grosbeak’s plumage is more subdued compared to the striking black, white and orange male. Her crown, face and throat are a warm brown and she has a whitish supercilium, or eye stripe. A brown stripe runs through her buffy white cheeks. She has a whitish chin and throat which is streaked with brown.
Her back is brown with black streaks along each feather. The rump is a warmer brown chestnut color. The uppertail coverts are olive brown.
The tail is black with white outer tail feathers. The wings are mostly brown with two distinct whitish wing bars.
The underparts are a buffy orange-brown color with heavy streaking on the breast, sides and flanks. The belly is a warmer buff color with less streaking.
Her stout bill is a distinctive pale whitish or horn color. The eyes are brown and the legs and feet are a gray-brown.
The female molts into an eclipse plumage after breeding. This plumage is similar but has more olive-brown tones overall with a less defined facial pattern.
Similar Species
The female Black-headed Grosbeak could potentially be confused with certain other large songbirds. However, her thick conical bill, size, streaked plumage and wing bars help distinguish her.
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are smaller with smaller slimmer bills and have distinctive bold chevron stripes on the underparts. Female Blue Grosbeaks are much smaller and slimmer with finer bills and are a plain brown color.
Some large female sparrows and buntings can appear similar from a distance but have conical slimmer bills. Notably, the female Indigo Bunting shares the same chunky shape and size but has an all blue colored plumage. The female Painted Bunting is also similar in shape but is brightly colored green and yellow.
Geographic Range
The female Black-headed Grosbeak breeds in western North America from British Columbia to west Texas. The breeding range centers on the Pacific Northwest through to the Rocky Mountains.
They migrate in the winter to the southern United States, Mexico and down to Panama. On the Pacific coast they are present year-round. Vagrants may turn up further east and have been spotted as far as Florida.
Habitat
During the breeding season the female is found in semi-open broadleaf forests, parks, riparian woodlands and gardens. She favors habitat with a mix of mature tall trees, a dense shrub layer and open patches.
In migration and winter she occurs in similar broadleaf or mixed woodlands, forests and scrublands. She’s also found in agricultural areas, suburbs and parks.
Behavior
The female Black-headed Grosbeak sings rich melodic warbles, whistles and trills. The song is similar to the male’s but higher pitched. She sings from open exposed perches high in trees. Her song is most frequent early and late in the breeding season.
She spends much time foraging for seeds, fruits and insects in the tree canopies. She mainly gleans foliage and branches and will occasionally hover or make aerial flycatching efforts.
Nest building is done solely by the female who constructs a sturdy cup nest out of twigs, stems, grass and bark strips. It is placed 3 to 10 meters up in a tree fork or dense vegetation. She incubates the 2 to 5 eggs for 12 to 14 days.
The female is social during the non-breeding season and flocks with other grosbeaks and blackbirds. Migratory flocks can number in the hundreds.
Diet
The female Black-headed Grosbeak is omnivorous, eating a combination of insects, seeds and fruits. Her massive bill allows her to access hard foods.
During the breeding season, insects make up over 50% of her diet. She consumes beetles, caterpillars, ants, wasps, flies and spiders. She forages for insects in the tree canopies, gleaning foliage and making short flycatching flights.
She supplements her diet with a wide variety of seeds and fruits including elderberries, blackberries, raspberries, wild cherries, currants and some seeds and grains. In winter she relies more on seeds from plants like maple, ash and pine.
She visits bird feeders for sunflower seeds, nuts and fruit and may occasionally visit nectar feeders.
Vocalizations
The female Black-headed Grosbeak has a rich varied song of whistles, warbles and trills. Her song is melodious like the male’s but higher pitched. It has been transliterated as a string of “tew, tew, tu, tuweee, ti ti tew tew.”
She gives short high “pink” calls when foraging and flying. A sharp, high “pit-ik” is used as an alarm call and she may give a hoarse “check” when disturbed at the nest.
Other calls include a high “seet-seet”, a sharp “pit” beg call to the male, a “chink” contact call and squeaky nestling calls.
Conservation Status
The female Black-headed Grosbeak has a large range and increasing population trend. The species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Some threats include loss of breeding habitat and collisions with windows during migration. But she adapts readily to habitats like parks and gardens.
Fun Facts
- Female Black-headed Grosbeak excels at crushing hard pits and seeds, able to crack open cherries, olives and snails!
- During courtship feeding, the male regurgitates food for the female, even bringing her choice insects.
- The nestlings hatch with pale skin and just a bit of down. But they develop quickly, leaving the nest at 10 to 14 days old.
Conclusion
With her streaked brown plumage, thick conical bill and melodious song, the female Black-headed Grosbeak is a distinctive and beautiful songbird. She shares much with the showy male in terms of behavior and voice but boasts her own unique subtler beauty. The large grosbeak is a common sight across western North America, easily spotted by her robust shape and musical voice.