GROSBEAKS

Crimson-collared Grosbeak

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Rhodothraupis celaeno

The Crimson-collared Grosbeak is a medium-size seed- and leaf-eating bird in the same family as the Northern Cardinal, Cardinalidae.

Males have black plumage with a dull red or pinkish-red "collar" on the nape, shoulders, and belly, the belly is mottled with black.

Females have a black head and breast like males but have greenish upperparts and yellowish underparts.

Juveniles are similar to females but have less black.

The beak is black, big and stubby, with the upper mandible jutting roughly perpendicular to the forehead.

They are about 8.0 - 9.25 inches long.

CALL: Penetrating whistles starting with an "s" sound, slurred downward or one upward followed by one downward.

SONG: A warble, often slurred upward at the end.

They feed primarily on grains and seeds, buds and fruits. They may also eat some flowers parts and insects such as beetles larvae and plant lice.

Inhabits humid or semi-arid forest and second growth, from low to high levels, sometimes skulking on the ground.

Primarily found in north-eastern Mexico from central Nuevo León and central Tamaulipas south to northern Veracruz. It occasionally strays into the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, mostly in winter.

The nest is a bulky cup made of grass and twigs and placed in a bush. The female lays 2 or 3 pale blue-gray eggs with brown markings.

SOURCE:
https://en.wikipedia.org