Black-headed Grosbeak
(Pheucticus melanocephalus)

Overview

Summary

© Tony Battiste
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Black-headed Grosbeak is found in deciduous woodlands at low elevations in southwestern Canada. Data from the Breeding Bird Survey suggest that its population has increased moderately since the early 1970s. With their ability to use a wide diversity of habitats, relative tolerance to human activity and increasing populations there are no current conservation concerns for this species.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

The species benefits from the creation of mature gardens with large deciduous trees and orchards (Ortega and Hill 2010), though the quality of this habitat for breeding is not known. Black-headed Grosbeaks are susceptible to habitat loss through the conversion of deciduous woodlands along creeks and rivers to housing or agricultural developments.

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Ortega, C. and G.E. Hill. 2010. Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Ortega, C. and G.E. Hill. 2010. Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, J.E. Fallon, K.L. Pardieck, D.J. Ziolkowski, Jr., and W.A. Link. 2014. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2012. Version 02.19.2014 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. Sauer, J.R., J.E. Hines, J.E. Fallon, K.L. Pardieck, D.J. Ziolkowski, Jr., and W.A. Link. 2014. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2012. Version 02.19.2014 USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. (Link)