Our Family Photo

Our Family Photo

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Finally after a long try I was able to get a picture of the male pine grosbeak. It wasn't easy as the little bugger was quick and I always have the help of the dogs. The picture below is a recap of the one I got of the female, they seem a little more braver and didn't seem to mind the attention.

Some interesting facts about the birds courtesy of: ©2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Pine Grosbeak
Pinicola enucleator
Order PASSERIFORMES - Family FRINGILLIDAE - Subfamily Carduelinae
One of the larger members of its family, the Pine Grosbeak is a bird of the boreal forests, found across northern Eurasia and North America, and south into the mountains of western Canada and the United States. A large, unwary finch, it makes periodic winter irruptions into southern Canada and northern United States. It is the largest and rarest of the "winter finches."
Description
top
Large finch; medium-sized songbird.
Plump, heavy-chested.
Dark wings with two white wingbars.
Large stubby curved bill.
Male red.
Size: 20-25 cm (8-10 in)
Wingspan: 33 cm (13 in)
Sex Differences
Sexually dimorphic: Male with rosy-red head, chest and back, rest gray; females with yellow-olive where male has red.

A breeding adult Pine Grosbeak develops pouches in the floor of its mouth for carrying food to its young.
During most of the year, 99% of diet is vegetable matter, especially buds, seeds, and fruits of spruce, pine, juniper, elm, maple, mountain ash, apple, and crab apple. It feeds insects and spiders to its young, though, often mixed with plant foods. It drinks water or eats snow daily.

No comments: