Female Blue Grosbeak
On a mild, unusually gentle June morning, with a soft blue sky veiled in high white clouds, a brown bird with a slightly crested head and a long, expressive tail flew back and forth several times between a dense privet thicket and a wide strip of tall grass along the roadside. It seemed to be capturing insects in the grass, most likely grasshoppers and crickets, and as it hunted, it frequently called a strong, ringing clink! Once when it flew out of the privet, it clung to a tall-stemmed weed among the grass, facing in my direction and in full, clear view for a few moments, lit by the sun.
It was a beautiful Blue Grosbeak – a female or an immature male, with handsome coloring in shades of cinnamon and brown, rather than a breeding male’s deep blue. Its crested head was held high, with a very large, pale beak. When it flew from the tall stem, back to the edge of the shrubs, it remained in view for several more moments, switching its long tail rapidly and often, as Blue Grosbeaks often do. Then it went deeper into the vegetation and disappeared.
Blue Grosbeaks are colorful, very interesting songbirds that may not be as familiar as other species because they prefer to nest in scrubby, rough habitats like this old field. They nest during the summer season across a large part of southern North America, including here in this part of Georgia, but they are not generally common or frequently seen. A male in breeding plumage is deep, ink-blue with orange-brown wing bars and a large, prominent silver beak. He sings a melodious, warbled song, often from the top branches of the tallest tree or bush around, but he and his mate nest low, in a small tree or bush or briarpatch or tangle of vines, usually well hidden in dense vegetation.
A great deal about the biology and habits of Blue Grosbeaks is not yet known, maybe because they are so widely dispersed and live in habitats like this one here that are often overlooked. I’ve been lucky enough to find Blue Grosbeaks here in this part of an old field most summers for the past decade or more. They’re not often easily seen, but when they are out, their behavior can be very animated and fascinating to watch.