What is a grosbeak?
His name means Fat Beak, and you would expect to find him in the bird world where’ beaks of all sorts are always in style. Actually the grosbeak is a pretty finch bird. His gaudy red cousin, the cardinal, has the same kind of beak and some people call him a grosbeak also. A duck uses her flat beak to dribble in the mud. The heron uses his long, thin beak like a pair of chopsticks to pick up fish and passing frogs. The shape of a bird’s beak tells a lot about how he finds his food. The grosbeak has a short, very strong beak shaped like a stubby cone. It is fine for grabbing tough skinned beetles and cracking seeds. He also uses it to grab helpings of soft caterpillars and soft, juicy fruits. His pretty plumage is also quite remarkable and like his cousins, the finches, he is a sweet sounding songbird. The colorful dressers of the bird world usually are the males. Most females wear quiet tones of brown and gray. There are several grosbeaks and, true to this rule, the males are more gaudy
The name ‘Grosbeak’ refers to species of finch found in many parts of the world. The Pine Grosbeak, in particular, is found over a very wide range. The British Scarlet Grosbeak seems not to be known in North America. The Evening Grosbeak is North American and is large for a finch. It has beautiful olive, black and white plumage. We had a whole flock of them descend on a clump of fruiting Elders one autumn on their migration trek. What a treat. Worp.
