Rose-breasted Grosbeak

How to find it

Scan the treetops at forest edges, in gardens and around plantations rather than in deep forest. Look up into fruiting trees, since it rarely comes to the ground. Listen for the sharp, squeaky call, which can lead you to a flock. On the Turrialba slope, try the village of San Antonio and lower down at Santa Rosa. Late October tours have found it in the farmland of the Ujarrás Valley, and a March 2024 tour found the first birds along the Río Tuis, though the guides noted that not many were around.

How to recognise it

The male is black above and white below, with a bright pink-red triangular patch on the chest. His bill is large, thick and pale yellowish. Adults measure 18 to 22 cm, a figure for the species as a whole.

The female is streaked brown and white, with a bold face pattern and an enormous bill. Immature birds look much the same. Immature males are brown and streaked like the female, but often keep some trace of reddish pink.

What it sounds like

Recording: Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

In Costa Rica it travels in flocks of 3 to 6 birds, rarely up to 20. In its winter quarters it tends to stay in the treetops and is rarely seen on the ground, so it pays to look up.

Fruiting trees can draw it into parks and gardens. Single Black-headed Grosbeaks sometimes join these flocks, so check each flock for a look-alike.

Where it lives

In winter it favours open woodland and loose tree growth, such as forest edges, parks, gardens and plantations. In Costa Rica its range runs from sea level up to about 1,500 m.

It has been recorded on the Turrialba Volcano slope, in the agricultural Ujarrás Valley, at Arenal and La Fortuna, at San Gerardo de Dota, on Cerro de la Muerte, in the central Pacific lowlands and at Palo Verde in Guanacaste.

When to see it

A Costa Rican natural history account has it present from about mid October onward. Large numbers had reached the country by November, and some were still flying north in March.

Similar birds

The female can be confused only with the female Black-headed Grosbeak. That is another northern migrant, and it turns up only sporadically in Costa Rica in some years. Female and first-fall male plumage are very similar, but the Rose-breasted's call is a sharp "eek" that is squeakier than the Black-headed's.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Besides the official Spanish name Picogrueso Pechirrosado, a Costa Rican reserve bird list gives the everyday name Calandria. The male is also known as degollado, slit throat, for his red patch.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a migrant (M), and the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, assessed in 2018.

Photography tips

It usually stays in the treetops, so look up into fruiting trees and expect to need a long lens.