This female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak has been hanging out at our home for a few days now.  We  had never seen a female before so we didn’t know what kind of bird it was at first. Using our trusty Sibley’s, we realized that it is a female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. The males are quite colorful being black and white with a very rose-colored breast. The females are a lot more drab in color.

And I always wondered why they are called Grosbeaks. Their beak is very different and very distinctive. It is French for “gros” meaning thick  and “bek” meaning beak. And, as you can see, they have a very thick beak which they use for opening the seeds.

Pretty cool, huh? Have you ever seen a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak? We named her “Rosie!” I wonder if she has a male nearby…