Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
Silhouette: Jonah Duckles · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyCardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies)
- GenusPasserina (North American Buntings)
- SpeciesPasserina caerulea (Blue Grosbeak)
About the 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. The male is blue with two brown wing bars. The female is mainly brown with scattered blue feathers on the upperparts and two brown wing bars.
The blue grosbeak was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name 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 study of mitochondrial DNA sequences found that the blue grosbeak, in spite... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Blue Grosbeak in Celestún Biosphere Reserve
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Celestún Biosphere Reserve
Indigo Bunting
Passerina cyanea
Painted Bunting
Passerina ciris
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Dickcissel
Spiza americana
Summer Tanager
Piranga rubra
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Pheucticus ludovicianus
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Blue Bunting
Cyanocompsa parellina
Western Tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
Tropical Mockingbird
Mimus gilvus
Yellow Warbler
Setophaga petechia
Mangrove Vireo
Vireo pallens
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Blue Grosbeak in Celestún Biosphere Reserve?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Grosbeak sighting in Celestún Biosphere Reserve, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Blue Grosbeak in Celestún Biosphere Reserve?
October has the highest sighting rate for Blue Grosbeak in Celestún Biosphere Reserve in our monthly data.