Listen to the Black-headed grosbeak
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Black-headed grosbeak
The Black-headed grosbeak is a bird in the family Cardinalidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 47 g.
What does the Black-headed grosbeak sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song and call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The black-headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) is a medium-sized, seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the rose-breasted grosbeak (P. ludovicianus) with which it hybridizes on the American Great Plains.
The 19 cm (7.5 in) long, 47 g (1.7 oz) black-headed grosbeak is a migratory bird, with nesting grounds from southwestern British Columbia, through the western half of the United States, into central Mexico. It occurs as a vagrant further south in Central America.
Related birds in the genus Pheucticus
More from the family Cardinalidae
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Indigo bunting
Passerina cyanea
Dickcissel
Spiza americana
Scarlet tanager
Piranga olivacea
Summer tanager
Piranga rubra
Pyrrhuloxia
Cardinalis sinuatus
Western tanager
Piranga ludoviciana
Lazuli bunting
Passerina amoena
Red-crowned ant tanager
Habia rubica
Blue seedeater
Amaurospiza concolor
Frequently asked questions
What does a Black-headed grosbeak sound like?
You can hear 4 recordings of the Black-headed grosbeak on this page, including its song and call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the Black-headed grosbeak endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-headed grosbeak as “least concern”.
What family does the Black-headed grosbeak belong to?
The Black-headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) belongs to the family Cardinalidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Pheucticus melanocephalus vocalizations - pone.0027052.s007 by Francis C, Ortega C, Cruz A – CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Prairie Trail, Custer State Park, South Dakota, United… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · San Francisco Peninsula (near Redwood City), San Mateo… by J. R. – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call, song · Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, California, United States by Peter Wilton – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q998547 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Black-headed grosbeak – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Alan Vernon – CC BY 2.0