Tuesday Tweets

 

It seems like every year some poor birds get mixed up and end up a log way from home. Last year's special visitor was a blue grosbeak.The breeding range of the blue grosbeak does extend north into North and South Dakota so it is not so uncommon in western portions of the state but here in the Twin Cities, where we are on the eastern border with Wisconsin, it was an exciting event. People from all over the cities and other parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin came to see the rare visitor.

Welcome to Tuesday Tweets! To join in the fun just post a photo of a bird and then link it by here by using the handy dandy link below. Then make sure you visit other sites to do a little bird watching.

Grosbeak

The term grosbeak does not refer to any specific family or genus of birds. Instead grosbeak is a term that refers to a physical feature that a number of different seed eating birds share. Although all of these birds are passerines they all belong to a different genus. For instance the pine grosebeak, pictured above, is a member of the genus Pinicola.
The evening grosbeak, pictured above, is in the same family as the pine grosbeak, Fringillidae, but is a member of the genus Coccothraustes. The genus Coccothraustes also includes the hawk finch and the hooded grosbeak. Both the pine grosbeak and evening grosbeak are closely related to finches.
The rose-breasted grosbeak, the one pictured above is an immature, is the most common grosbeak found in my area. The rose-breasted grosbeak is a member of the Cardinalidae family and is in the genus Pheucticus, which also includes the yellow, golden-bellied, black-thighed, and black-headed grosbeaks.
The blue grosbeak is also a member of the Cardinalidae family but they are found in the genus passerina. The genus passerina also includes the North American bunting species including the indigo and painted buntings. Since both the rose-breasted and blue grosbeaks are members of the Cardinalidae family they are both also related to cardinals. There are many other types of grosbeaks in a variety of different genus' found around the world but unfortunately these are the only types that I have ever found here in Minnesota.