Description 7 1/2" (19 cm). Starling-sized. Heavy pinkish-white bill. Male has black head; tawny-orange breast; yellow belly; and tawny back with black streaking; black wings and tail with conspicuous white patches. Female has white eyebrows and pale buff underparts; breast very finely streaked. Young resemble females.

Voice Rich warble similar to that of a robin but softer, sweeter, and faster. Call note an emphatic, sharp tick, slightly metallic in tone.

Habitat Open, deciduous woodlands near water, such as river bottoms, lakeshores, and swampy places with a mixture of trees and shrubs.

Nesting 3 or 4 greenish eggs, spotted with brown, in a loosely built stick nest lined with rootlets, grasses, and leaves, and placed among the dense foliage of an outer tree limb.

Range Breeds from southwestern Canada east to western North Dakota and Nebraska and south to mountains of Mexico. Winters in Mexico.

Discussion The Black-headed Grosbeak hybridizes with its eastern counterpart, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, along their mutual boundary. This situation arose when the treeless prairies, which once formed a barrier between the two species, became dotted with towns and homesteads, providing suitable habitats for both species. The Black-headed Grosbeak is a rather still and secretive bird throughout the summer. Like the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the males of this species, despite their bright colors, share incubation with the females. However, they are not conspicuously marked above; the brightest coloration is on the breast and belly, which is concealed as they incubate. Their food is quite varied. Heavy seeds are easily cracked open with their huge beaks; although sometimes they pose a problem in fruit orchards, Black-headed Grosbeaks also consume harmful insects and are highly valuable to farmers.