Family: Cardinalidae, Cardinals view all from this family

Description 6-7 1/2" (15-19 cm). Slightly larger than a House Sparrow. Male dark blue with 2 chestnut wing bars and a stout, dark bill. Female dark buff-brown with 2 buff wing bars. Indigo Bunting similar, but is smaller, lacks wing bars.

Habitat Brushy moist pastures and roadside thickets.

Nesting 3 or 4 pale blue eggs in a loose cup of grass, weed stems, and leaves concealed in a clump of weeds.

Range Breeds from California, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, and New Jersey southward. Winters in tropics.

Voice   Sweet, jumbled warble. Also a metallic klink.

Discussion After breeding, small flocks of Blue Grosbeaks feed together or mix with other seed-eating birds such as sparrows. They also search out insects, especially grasshoppers, that live in the grassy vegetation of open fields.