Pinicola enucleator
The Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator, is a truly magnificent and robust passerine, holding the distinction of being the largest North American finch. Adults measure approximately 20-25 cm (8-10 inches) in length with a wingspan of 33-36 cm (13-14 inches) and weigh between 50-78 grams. Males are stunningly colored with a deep, rosy-raspberry red plumage across their head, back, and rump, contrasting with dusky wings featuring two prominent white wing-bars. Females and immatures exhibit a mor...
Found primarily in dense coniferous and mixed boreal forests, often at high elevations in mountainous regions or across extensive taiga. Prefers mature spruce, fir, pine, and larch stands.
Primarily herbivorous, feeding on a wide variety of buds (especially pine, spruce, fir, aspen), seeds, and berries; supplemented with some insects during summer.
Pine Grosbeaks are diurnal, spending their days foraging actively, often in small, loose flocks outside the breeding season, and typically roosting communally or solitarily in dense conifers at night. Their foraging strategy involves dexterously plucking buds, seeds, and fruits from trees, often ...
The Pine Grosbeak boasts a vast circumboreal breeding range spanning the northern coniferous forests of North America and Eurasia. In North America, their breeding grounds extend across Alaska, Canada (from coast to coast), and into the northern contiguous United States, specifically in the subal...
Least Concern
- The Pine Grosbeak is the largest finch in North America, often compared in size to a robin. - They are famously tame and often allow humans to approach within a few feet, showing little fear. - Their name 'grosbeak' refers to their large, conical bill, perfectly adapted for crushing seeds and s...