Black-faced Grosbeak

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The Black-faced Grosbeak is a large seed-eating bird in the cardinal family. It is a resident breeding species from southeastern Mexico to eastern Panama.

The adult Black-faced Grosbeak is 17 cm long and weighs 36 gm. It has a heavy, mainly black, bill. It has a black face, yellow head, neck and breast, and olive back, wings and tail. The rump and belly are gray. Immature birds are duller and have duskier face markings.

The Black-faced Grosbeak forages in shrubs or trees for beetles, caterpillars and other insects, and also eats fruit, seeds, and nectar taken from flowers. It is often in mixed-species feeding flocks with Honey-creepers and other Tanagers.

This species breeds in the Caribbean lowlands and foothills from sea level to about 1000m altitude, and is found in the canopy and middle levels of dense wet forests, tall second growth, and semi-open habitats such as woodland edge and clearings. The nest is a bowl constructed from leaves 3–6 m high in a small tree or palm. The female lays three brown-spotted gray-white eggs between April and June.


Black-faced Grosbeak, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

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