Nature's Showstoppers: Rose-breasted grosbeaks make spring return to region

Cheri Miller posted on my Facebook page to share a sighting and a photo of a male rose-breasted grosbeak visiting a feeder at her home in Hampton. The bird arrived on May 1. The bird's arrival is right on schedule. Plenty of rose-breasted grosbeaks pass through northeast Tennessee, southwest Virginia and western North Carolina in late April and early May every spring. A sighting of a male in his best spring plumage is always a breathtaking sight. Kaylynn Sanford Wilster, who lives in Piney Flats near Boone Lake, sought me out May 7 on Facebook for my help identifying a bird that turned out to be a male rose-breasted grosbeak. She had taken some video and photos of the bird through her bedroom window with her phone and said the bird was eating sunflower seeds at her feeder. Grosbeaks love sunflower seeds, so keep those feeders stocked! A few of these migrating grosbeaks will even decide to make their summer home on local mountains. However, these birds spread out widely across the eastern half of the North American continent, ranging from northeastern British Columbia to Quebec and Nova Scotia in Canada. They also range south from New Jersey to Georgia. The rose-breasted grosbeak also reaches Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas. For the most part, however, the rose-breasted grosbeak is replaced in the western United States by the closely related black-headed grosbeak. As fall approaches, the rose-breasted grosbeak migrates south to a winter range that spans central Mexico, Central America and northern South America. As they depart, many of these migrating birds will make autumn visits to again partake of offerings of sunflower seeds at backyard feeders. So, if you don't get to see these showy birds in the spring, you do get another chance to see them in September and October. The male rose-breasted grosbeak gives this species its common name. Males are the epitome of the birds that make their home for part of the year in the American tropics. The contrasting black and white plumage is emphasized by a triangular slash of rosy-red color on the breast. Put all those elements together and the male rose-breasted grosbeak is not a bird that would be mistaken for any other. The female grosbeak, however, doesn't stand out in the same way. She is much less colorful than the male. With her brown and white plumage, she is often mistaken for a large sparrow or finch. Both sexes have a massive bill, which they use to hull sunflower seeds at feeders or glean insects from leaves and branches. It's the heavy, blunt bill for which the term "grosbeak" is derived. "Gros" is a German term for large or big, so grosbeak simply means a large-beaked bird. People who band birds to further scientific study will tell you that rose-breasted grosbeaks can inflict a wicked nip. In Northeast Tennessee, bird banders frequently encounter rose-breasted grosbeaks in their mist nets — and some bear the scars to prove it. With some birds, males play only a minor role in the nesting process. That's not the case with the rose-breasted grosbeak male. The males help with nest-building chores and share responsibility with the female for incubating the eggs. The female lays three to five eggs in a cup-shaped nest. It's not easy to locate the nests since the birds usually place them in trees at least 20 feet above the ground. Within two weeks, the eggs have hatched and the parents are kept extremely busy finding enough food to satisfy the voracious nestlings. Well fed by both parents, the young grow quickly and usually are ready to leave the nest within 12 days. Often, when a first brood of young departs the nest, the male will care for the rowdy group of fledglings as the female starts a second nest to capitalize on the long days of summer. Away from our feeders, rose-breasted grosbeaks feed on insects, seeds, fruit and even some leaf buds and flowers. I've seen these birds satisfying a sweet tooth — or should that be sweet beak? — by feeding on jewelweed flowers and apple blossoms. If sugar's good for hummingbirds, I am sure it is a valuable energy source for rose-breasted grosbeaks, too. Other grosbeaks that range the United States and Canada include the blue grosbeak, pine grosbeak, evening grosbeak and black-headed grosbeak. The rose-breasted grosbeak is a cherished spring visitor that never disappoints observers. The handsome male brings a hint of the tropics to the mountains of Northeast Tennessee and beyond,•••Bryan Stevens has written about birds, birding and birders since 1995. Share a sighting, make a comment or ask a question by emailing him at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.