Wandering Aimlessly
The RBGB
by Phil Burkhouse
The rose-breasted grosbeak, one of our prettiest birds and greatest singers, has been arriving into our area over the past month. The RBGB migrates into the Big Woods in late spring and is an easy bird to identify.
The male RBGB has a brilliant red V or chevron on its breast, a solid black head, and a mixture of black and white throughout its wings and body. The female and immature RBG are the same shape and size as the male but are very drab with brown and white colors. As the name “grosbeak” implies, the bird has a bill that is enormous and quite heavy. These birds are common visitors to bird feeders and have a great fondness for black oil sunflower seeds which they ravenously devour.