The blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea''), is a medium-sized North American
passerine bird in the cardinal family
Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. The male is blue with two brown . The female is mainly brown with scattered blue feathers on the upperparts and two brown wing bars.
Taxonomy
The blue grosbeak was
formally described by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the
tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...
'' under the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Loxia caerulea''.
The specific epithet ''caerulea'' is the Latin word for "blue", "azure-blue", "sky-blue" or "dark-blue". Linnaeus based his own description on the "blew gross-beak" described and illustrated by
Mark Catesby in his ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands''. The book had been published in 1729–1732. Catesby gave the location as Carolina and Linnaeus specified America. The
type location is now restricted to South Carolina.
Some taxonomists placed the blue grosbeak in its own
monotypic genus ''Guiraca'' but in 2001 a
molecular phylogenetic
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
study of mitochondrial DNA sequences found that the blue grosbeak, in spite of being physically larger, nested within the ''Passerina'' and was most closely related to the
lazuli bunting
The lazuli bunting (''Passerina amoena'') is a North American songbird named for the gemstone lapis lazuli.
Description
Measurements:
* Length: 5.1-5.9 in (13-15 cm)
* Weight: 0.5-0.6 oz (13-18 g)
* Wingspan: 8.7 in (22 cm)
The male i ...
. The species is therefore now placed with the North American buntings in ''
Passerina'', a genus that was introduced by the French ornithologist
Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816.
Seven
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognised:
[
* ''P. c. caerulea'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – southeast and south central USA
* ''P. c. interfusa'' (]Dwight Dwight may refer to:
People
* Dwight (given name)
* Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), 34th president of the United States and former military officer
*New England Dwight family of American educators, military and political leaders, and authors
* ...
& Griscom, 1927) – west central USA and north Mexico
* ''P. c. salicaria'' ( Grinnell, 1911) – southwest USA and northwest Mexico
* ''P. c. eurhyncha'' ( Coues, 1874) – central and south Mexico
* ''P. c. chiapensis'' ( Nelson, 1898) – south Mexico to Guatemala
* ''P. c. deltarhyncha'' ( Van Rossem, 1938) – west Mexico
* ''P. c. lazula'' ( Lesson, R, 1842) – south Guatemala to northwest Costa Rica
Description
The male blue grosbeak is deep blue, with both black and brown on its wings. The female is mostly brown. Both sexes are distinguished by their large, deep bill and double wing bars. These features, as well as the grosbeak's relatively larger size, distinguish this species from the indigo bunting. Length can range from and wingspan is from . Body mass is typically from .[''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .]
Distribution and habitat
This is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds across most of the southern half of the United States and much of northern Mexico, migrating south to Central America and in very small numbers to northern South America; the southernmost record comes from eastern Ecuador.
This species is found in partly open habitat with scattered trees, riparian woodland, scrub, thickets, cultivated lands, woodland edges, overgrown fields, or hedgerows.
Behaviour and ecology
Breeding
The blue grosbeak nests in a low tree or bush or a tangle of vegetation, usually about above ground, often at the edge of an open area.
Feeding
It eats mostly insects, but it will also eat snails, spiders, seeds, grains, and wild fruits. The blue grosbeak forages mainly on the ground.
Gallery
Image:Guiraca caeruleaAAP086CB.jpg, Male (upper), female (lower)
Image:Blue grosbeak.jpg, alt=Blue Grosbeak in Birds of America, Blue Grosbeak in ''Birds of America''
References
External links
Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the blue grosbeak
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All About Birds: Blue grosbeak
eBird: Blue grosbeak
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q794337
blue grosbeak
The blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea''), is a medium-sized North American passerine bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. ...
Birds of the United States
Birds of Central America
Birds of Mexico
Birds of Guatemala
Birds of El Salvador
blue grosbeak
The blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea''), is a medium-sized North American passerine bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. ...
blue grosbeak
The blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea''), is a medium-sized North American passerine bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. ...