Life List 100
Visually documented
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
- First photographed
- July 2, 2026
- First location
- Colorado, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
An evolving study
Blue Grosbeak portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Passerina caerulea
Overview
The Blue Grosbeak is a large-billed songbird of brushy open landscapes. Males often sing from wires or shrub tops, while both sexes forage low in vegetation and on the ground.
Identification
Adult males are deep blue with two chestnut wingbars, black around the bill, and a large silvery conical bill. Females are warm cinnamon-brown with bluish tones in the wings and tail and buff wingbars.
Range
Breeds across the southern half of the United States and through Mexico, with expansion northward in some regions. It winters in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Habitat
Brushy fields, woodland edges, riparian thickets, hedgerows, regenerating land, desert washes, and weedy roadsides.
Diet
Insects, spiders, snails, grass seeds, grain, and other plant material.
Photography by Brittany Templin
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