Bird guide · Pinicola enucleator
Pine Grosbeak
What the pine grosbeak eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Year-round resident; irruptive in some winters
- Size
- 9 in (23 cm)
- Eats
- black oil sunflower
- Feeds
- tray/platform, hopper
- Most common
- Alaska, Minnesota, Wyoming
Food
What do pine grosbeaks eat?
At feeders, pine grosbeaks take black oil sunflower.
Often absurdly tame; comes to feeders for sunflower seeds.
Feeder that suits it
A low tray or platform feeder, or seed scattered on the ground below your feeder.
Range
Where do pine grosbeaks live?
Spruce and fir forests of the North and high western mountains; sometimes moves south in winter. By share of all bird sightings, pine grosbeaks are most common in Alaska (0.3%).
Season
Does the pine grosbeak migrate?
Year-round resident; irruptive in some winters. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in February.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are pine grosbeaks, by month.
Identification
How to identify the pine grosbeak
Male: Large pink-and-grey finch with a stubby black bill and two white wing bars.
Female: Grey with yellow or orange on the head.
Young birds: Like female.
Size: 9 in (23 cm)
On camera
Getting the pine grosbeak on a feeder camera
Most visits happen on the ground or on low trays. A camera feeder with a wide tray, placed low near cover, catches far more than a hanging tube.
Questions
Pine Grosbeak: questions
What do pine grosbeaks eat?
At feeders, black oil sunflower.
Do pine grosbeaks migrate?
Year-round resident; irruptive in some winters. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in February.
Where do pine grosbeaks live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in Alaska, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana, Vermont. They are rare or absent in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware.
What does a female pine grosbeak look like?
Grey with yellow or orange on the head.
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