Pheucticus melanocephalus
The Black-headed Grosbeak is a chunky, distinctive songbird. Found throughout western North America, its cheerful whistled song is reminiscent of the American Robin’s, and its notes herald the arrival of spring. The Black-headed Grosbeak is a bird of the forests, inhabiting woodland edges from subalpine forests to riparian zones in deserts, but also frequents backyards where it forages on sunflower seed feeders and even on nectar feeders.
The Black-headed Grosbeak shares the characteristic big beak of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, its relative found in the eastern half of North America. This “gros” (big) beak is heavy and conical, perfect for cracking large seeds and hard-bodied insect prey.
Many Black-headed Grosbeaks migrate to the forests of central Mexico for the nonbreeding season, where huge roosts of migratory monarch butterflies also gather. The Black-headed Grosbeak is one of only a few species that can consume these butterflies, which are poisonous to most birds due to the high levels of toxins in their milkweed diet. Even with this relative immunity, the Black-headed Grosbeak can only feed on monarchs in roughly eight-day cycles, allowing its body to flush out the toxins in between bouts of feasting.
Even common and adaptable birds that can thrive in a variety of habitats are not immune to the threats that make all birds more vulnerable. Habitat loss, predation by free-roaming cats, and fatal collisions with windows are dangers to even the most visible species living near humans, including the Black-headed Grosbeak.
Habitat loss, along with the fragmentation and degradation of habitat, contributes to bird population declines. Suitable habitat is the foundation of what birds need to thrive. Black-headed Grosbeaks can benefit from some human alteration of the landscape that creates the kinds of openings and edge habitats they favor, but only to a point.
Invasive species, including domestic cats, are the leading human-caused driver of bird population declines. Cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds in the U.S. alone each year. The Black-headed Grosbeak’s tendency to adapt well to human environments like backyards puts them in proximity to pet cats.
Collisions take an enormous toll on birds. While collisions with reflective windows in city centers during migration take center stage, they are a year-round threat to birds, both migratory and resident. More than a billion birds die in the U.S. each year alone, but the threat of collisions persists anywhere windows go untreated.
Birds need our help to overcome the threats they face. Even adaptable birds with stable populations, like the Black-headed Grosbeak, benefit from conservation actions that help all birds. At ABC, we’re inspired by the wonder of birds and driven by our responsibility to find solutions to meet their greatest challenges.
Cats make wonderful companions, but they’re safest (and birds are, too) when they’re kept indoors or under the control of their owners. ABC advocates for responsible cat ownership, encouraging millions of pet owners to take steps to keep their cats contained and advocating for policies that benefit birds, cats, and human health.
ABC has been a leader in the effort to reduce the devastating toll of glass collisions on birds. We’ve developed innovative methods for evaluating the effectiveness of collision deterrents, created resources to elevate our collective understanding of collisions and make solutions readily accessible, and advocated for bird-friendly policies in the U.S.
Migratory birds need conservation action where they breed, where they spend the nonbreeding season, and at all of the stopover habitats they use along the way. To make these incredible journeys safer, ABC prioritizes habitat restoration and conservation and threat mitigation where birds need them most.
The Black-headed Grosbeak is a chunky songbird with a large head, thick neck, and short tail. The male’s black head and contrasting black and white wings set off a bright cinnamon nape, back, and underside. The center of his belly shades to lemon yellow, then becomes white on the lower belly and undertail. The female Black-headed Grosbeak lacks the male’s dark head and is patterned in quieter shades of buff and brown, with fine striping along her flanks. Both sexes have yellow wing linings that are most conspicuous in flight, and the heavy, conical bill for which the species is named.
The Black-headed Grosbeak’s tuneful song is similar to that of its close relative, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a lilting round of clear whistled notes, trills, and warbles. Both males and females sing, although the female performs a simpler version of the song. This bird’s call is a sharp, somewhat squeaky chip note.
Credit: Omar Suárez García, XC918210. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/918210.
Credit: Paul Marvin, XC720283. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/720283.
Throughout the year, the Black-headed Grosbeak uses mixed open woods and woodland edges, often near water and where a diversity of plants is present. Though they typically aren’t found in large tracts of unbroken habitats, like deserts, grasslands, or dense forests, they will inhabit the areas on the peripheries of such habitats.
Specific Area
Southernmost parts of Alaska and western Canada, western U.S, from central North Dakota and southwestern Texas to the Pacific Coast, south to Oaxaca, Mexico
Range Detail
The Black-headed Grosbeak breeds from the Pacific coast to the middle of the Great Plains, and from southwestern Canada to the mountains of central Mexico. Its nonbreeding habitats are similar. Black-headed Grosbeaks from the northern part of their range migrate to central Mexico in the nonbreeding season, while more southern populations remain largely in place.
Did you know?
The Black-headed Grosbeak will sometimes hybridize with the closely related Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the eastern edge of the Great Plains, where the two species’ ranges overlap. The presence of hybrids does not signal the formation of a new species, as the majority of each of the “parent” species remains distinct due to isolating mechanisms ranging from the physical (song, plumage) to the molecular level.
The Black-headed Grosbeak is common and well-studied, and its adaptability in many human-built environments makes it a familiar species throughout much of the western half of North America. Though they glean insects from the treetops, they also drop down to the understory and are frequent visitors to backyard feeders. In the nonbreeding season, they may form loose flocks.
The Black-headed Grosbeak dines on an almost even mixture of animal and plant matter, which it plucks from leaves and branches as it moves through the foliage. Like many songbirds, it consumes a higher proportion of insects and invertebrates during the breeding season, when the extra protein is needed to sustain nesting adults and growing chicks. This grosbeak also feeds on fruits, seeds, and plant buds, easily cracking open larger food items with its large, sturdy bill. The Black-headed Grosbeak will also visit backyard bird feeders for seeds, fruit, and jelly, often alongside other species such as the Spotted Towhee and Dark-eyed Junco.
Male Black-headed Grosbeaks return to the nesting grounds first, then court newly-arriving females with loud song and low courtship flights that show off their strikingly-patterned, black-and-white wing and tail feathers. Newly formed pairs call back and forth to each other as they forage, continuing to stay in close contact as the female selects a nest location in a small, dense tree or bush, usually near a stream.
On her chosen nesting site, the female Black-headed Grosbeak builds a shallow cup nest of twigs, grasses, needles, and bark, lined with finer materials such as rootlets and hair. Nests are concealed by leaves and branches and placed in the tree or bush’s outer branches, up to 25 feet high.
Males and females take turns incubating a clutch of two to five pale blue-green spotted eggs, often singing to each other from the nest and as they exchange shifts. The clutch hatches after roughly two weeks, and both parents keep busy supplying food to their voracious young. The hatchlings fledge after 10 to 14 days but remain in the vicinity as their parents continue to care for them. In a few days, the young grosbeaks are fully able to fly and continue to follow their parents while begging for food.
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