BREEDING BIRD: BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK: (Pheucticus melanocephalus)

Description: Large, stocky finch-like bird with an outsized triangular bill. Males are dull orange-brown on breast, collar and rump with black head, and bold black and white wings; female plumage is buffier with sparrow-like streaks on wings. In flight, both sexes show yellow wing linings.

Habitat: Commonly found in open woodland, thickets and near edges of ponds.

Diet: Seeds, nuts, some fruits and occasionally spiders.

Voice: Song consists of rising and falling passages; resembles a robin’s call but is more melodious and mellow. The sound is a sharp ik or eek .

Displays: Courting male performs song flights above female with his tail and wings spread while singing almost continuously, then returns to original perch. Song flights often occur during incubation of eggs.

Nest: Loosely built of twigs, stems and rootlets, then lined with finer stems and soft, green rootlets; nest is built in three to four days.

Eggs: One inch and pale blue, green or a bluish-green, marked with browns or purples, especially at larger end.

Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas, call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160.

Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis.

Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).