Blue Grosbeak

Passerina caerulea

Silhouette: Jonah Duckles · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
FamilyCardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies)
GenusPasserina (North American Buntings)
SpeciesPasserina caerulea (Blue Grosbeak)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Ostional Wildlife Refuge

3 Verified sightings at Ostional Wildlife Refuge From 2019 to 2026

3,536 Verified sightings across all 55 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

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 →

Closest Relatives at Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Passerina ciris

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Passerina cyanea

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Piranga rubra

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Piranga ludoviciana

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Piranga olivacea

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Habia rubica

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Spiza americana

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Pitangus sulphuratus

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely

Campylorhynchus capistratus

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely

Quiscalus mexicanus

Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely

Tyrannus melancholicus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Setophaga petechia

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
2	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
3	Congaree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
4	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
5	Rincón de la Vieja National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
6	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
7	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
8	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
9	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
10	Shenandoah National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
11	Saguaro National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
12	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
13	Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	<5%
14	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
15	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
16	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
17	Lago de Yojoa	🇭🇳 Honduras	<5%
18	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
19	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	<5%
20	Los Haitises National Park	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	<5%
21	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
22	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
23	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	<5%
24	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
25	Masaya Volcano National Park	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	<5%
26	Pico Bonito National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	<5%
27	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
28	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
29	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
30	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
31	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
32	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
33	Joshua Tree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
34	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
35	Celaque National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
36	Biotopo Cerro Cahuí	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
37	El Triunfo	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
38	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
39	La Tigra National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
40	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
41	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
42	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
43	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
44	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
45	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
46	Ciénaga de Zapata	🇨🇺 Cuba	Insufficient data
47	Chirripó National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
48	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
49	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
50	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
51	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
52	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
53	Yosemite National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
54	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
55	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data

← Back to Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Blue Grosbeak

About the Blue Grosbeak

Recent sightings of Blue Grosbeak in Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Closest Relatives at Ostional Wildlife Refuge

Painted Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Summer Tanager

Western Tanager

Scarlet Tanager

Red-crowned Ant-Tanager

Dickcissel

Great Kiskadee

Rufous-backed Wren

Great-tailed Grackle

Tropical Kingbird

Yellow Warbler

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found