Black-headed Grosbeak
Learn to identify the Black-headed Grosbeak by ear. Master the "Cheer-up, hurry up, sweetly-sweetly-chew!" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Black-headed Grosbeak sounds like
A chunky songbird with a big pale bill and a robin-like voice that sounds sweeter and more relaxed. Males glow with a cinnamon chest, black head, and bold white wing flashes, while females are warm brown and striped but still show that hefty seed-cracking bill.
“Cheer-up, hurry up, sweetly-sweetly-chew!”
How to tell it apart
Where you'll hear it
Look for it in open woodlands, leafy streamside trees, forest edges, and big yards with tall shade trees. It likes places with a mix of cover, song perches, and fruiting shrubs.
They return in spring with rich, rolling song and stay busy through summer nesting in leafy branches. By late summer and fall, many shift to berries and begin moving south.
Similar species
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Male Rose-breasted has a black-and-white body with a bold rose-red triangle on the chest, not warm cinnamon underparts.
Western Tanager
Western Tanager males have a slimmer bill and a brighter yellow body, not the deep chestnut-orange belly of a grosbeak.
Bullock's Oriole
Bullock's Oriole is slimmer, longer-tailed, and more vividly orange with a pointed bill.