Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

The rose-breasted grosbeak is a predominantly black and white bird with a splashy crimson bib. With that palette in mind, I shouldn’t have been surprised that the grosbeak’s completed color column is similar to some of the woodpecker columns I’ve created. In real life, though, you wouldn’t confuse the grosbeak for a woodpecker; they look and behave nothing alike, even if they share a fondness for red, black, and white.

The candy apple-red band near this column’s base represents the “rose breast.” On the flesh and blood bird, that dramatic cadmium red seems to leak out from beneath the bird’s black cravat, earning the species the nickname, “Cut-throat.” The species’ personality doesn’t match the nickname…with one exception. The grosbeak is a frequent target of the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), a brood parasite. (You can read more about brood parasitism and cowbirds by visiting the brown-headed cowbird “Field Guide” poster in my print shop). Unlike many of the cowbird’s favorite targets, the grosbeak is able to distinguish cowbird eggs from its own, and will remove them from the nest. Moreover, grosbeaks are wise to the cowbird’s methods, and they are aggressively antagonistic toward them.

The rose-breasted grosbeak is an adaptable species, and thrives in a wide variety of habitats, including intact woodlands, pasture fringes, roadsides, and suburban parks and gardens. Trees are a must have, however, and the vast grasslands of the central west of the United States form something of a range boundary. In North America, this grosbeak is generally encountered east and north of that prairie “wall,” breeding in the northeastern United States and across much of Canada. (During the winter months, it heads south to Central and South America.) For most of the year, the grosbeak consumes a diet that is almost half insects and half vegetation, nuts, and seeds, but the insect protein consumption spikes during the height of the breeding season. During migration, the grosbeaks temporarily adopt a diet almost entirely composed of fruit.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.