Alternative name: Mexican Yellow Grosbeak
- Pheucticus chrysopeplus
Identification
21·5–24 cm
- Light lemon underparts
- Black back with yellow mottling
- Yellow rump
- Black upper tail coverts with white tips
- Black wings and tail with white spots, patches, and wingbars
- Greyish-black bill
Females are similar, apart from:
- Olive upperparts
- Dark streaks on the crown and back
- White markings on the wings (the white base of the primaries are smaller)
Distribution
Central America: found in Mexico and Guatemala
Taxonomy
Male. This is an atypical individual - the lower mandible is not normally larger than the upper.
Photo by Glen Tepke
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 23 March 2006
Photo by Glen Tepke
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 23 March 2006
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- P. c. dilutus:
- Highlands of north-western Mexico (southern Sonora, south-western Chihuahua and northern Sinaloa)
- P. c. chrysopeplus:
- Highlands of western Mexico (Sinaloa to Guerrero and south-western Puebla)
- P. c. aurantiacus:
- Highlands of southern Mexico (Chiapas) to central Guatemala
Habitat
Tropical deciduous forest, riverine woodland and scrub.
Behaviour
Breeding
The nest is a cup formed from roots, leaves and grass, placed in a small tree or bush. The clutch consists of 2-5 pale blue or greenish eggs, which have brown and grey speckling.
Diet
Their diet consists almost entirely of fruit.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2014)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Yellow Grosbeak. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow_Grosbeak
