Pine Grosbeak eBird Trail Maps

In On the Move, our regular migration column, we feature pairs of range maps from eBird that you can use to compare where birds of interest are at different times of the year. We featured the Pine Grosbeak, pictured above, in our January/February 2019 issue.

Maps from eBird show where Pine Grosbeak was seen in February 2007-2017 (left) and June 2007-2017.

A stocky, often confident chaffinch of the northern forests, the pine grosbeak is best known and most likely to be seen on its rare southern outbursts during certain winters. During June, the Pine Grosbeak is present in boreal forests at high latitudes from Alaska to eastern Canada, as well as at high elevations in the Rocky Mountains. In February, its distribution shifted considerably south: the species occurs in southern Alaska, in the boreal forest of Canada, and in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. A few grosbeaks usually reach the northern tier of the lower 48 states, but in major irruption years the species can be relatively common in yards, parks, and gardens in the Great Lakes region and the northeast. . Listen to the unique musical tee-te-tew whistle emitted by birds in flight, apparently used to promote flock cohesion.

View eBird’s real-time distribution maps for Pine Grosbeak.

A version of this article appeared in “Birding Briefs” in the January/February 2019 issue of BirdWatching.