Grosbeak

Grosbeak is a name for many kinds of birds that eat seeds and have big beaks. These birds are called passerines, meaning they are small birds that can hop and fly well. Even though they all share the name "grosbeak," they are not all closely related. Some grosbeaks belong to a group called cardueline finches, others are cardinals, and one type is a weaver bird.

The word "grosbeak" comes from the late 1600s and is partly a translation of the French word grosbec, where gros means "large" and bec means "beak". These birds are special because their large beaks help them crack open seeds to eat. There are many different species of grosbeaks, and scientists group them based on how closely related they are to each other.

Grosbeak finches

The finch family (Fringillidae) has 13 species called "grosbeak." They are all part of a large group called the subfamily Carduelinae.

Typical grosbeak finches

• The two Nearctic species in the genus Hesperiphona:
  • Evening grosbeak, H. vespertina
  • Hooded grosbeak, H. abeillei
• The two species in the East Asian genus Eophona:
  • Japanese grosbeak, E. personata
  • Chinese grosbeak or yellow-billed grosbeak, E. migratoria
• The four species in the South Asian genus Mycerobas:
  • Black-and-yellow grosbeak, M. icterioides
  • Collared grosbeak, M. affinis
  • Spot-winged grosbeak, M. melanozanthos
  • White-winged grosbeak, M. carnipes
• Hawfinch (also called the European grosbeak)
  • Hawfinch C.coccothraustes

Grosbeak bullfinch

• The pine grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator, lives in pine forests across many areas.

Grosbeak goldfinches

• The three golden-winged grosbeaks in the genus Rhynchostruthus, found in Somaliland, mountains of south-west Arabia and on the island of Socotra:
  • Somali golden-winged grosbeak, R. louisae
  • Arabian golden-winged grosbeak, R. percivali
  • Socotra golden-winged grosbeak, R. socotranus

Genus Crithagra

• Two species in the genus Crithagra are named "grosbeak-canaries" and one is called a grosbeak:
  • The São Tomé grosbeak, Crithagra concolor, lives only on the island of São Tomé off the West African coast.
  • The northern grosbeak-canary or Abyssinian grosbeak-canary, Crithagra donaldsoni
  • The Southern grosbeak-canary or Kenya grosbeak-canary, Crithagra buchanani

Extinct species

• There are two extinct Fringillidae "grosbeaks":
  • The Bonin grosbeak, found only on the Ogasawara Islands, last seen in 1832.
  • The Kona grosbeak or grosbeak finch, last seen in 1896. It was a special type of bird from Hawaii.

Cardinal-grosbeaks

The cardinal family of birds in the Americas has 17 kinds of grosbeaks. These birds are known for their large beaks and eating seeds.

There are many groups of these grosbeaks. Some live in places from the United States to Bolivia and northern Chile. Others are found only in certain areas, like the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama, or eastern Mexico. There are also species in South America and Neotropical regions, each with its own colors and patterns.

Grosbeak tanagers

Some birds called "grosbeaks" are related to tanagers. There are three of these:

• Two species in the Neotropical genus Saltator:
  • Slate-coloured grosbeak
  • Black-throated grosbeak
• The yellow-shouldered grosbeak from South America

Thick-billed weaver

The weaver family, called the Ploceidae, has a special bird named the thick-billed weaver. This bird is also known by its scientific name, Amblyospiza albifrons, and it belongs to the grosbeak group.