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Pine Grosbeak

 
Animal Encyclopedia: Pine grosbeak
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Pinicola enucleator

SUBFAMILY

Carduelinae

TAXONOMY

Pinicola enucleator Linnaeus, 1758. Two subspecies are recognized.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Pine rosefinch; French: Durbec des sapins; German: Hakengimpel; Spanish: Camachuelo Picogrueso.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The pine grosbeak is a large, stout-bodied finch with a body length of about 7.9 in (20 cm) and weighing about 2 oz (57 g). It has a short, slightly forked tail and a short, stout, conical beak. The male is colored overall red, with black wings with white wing-bars, a dark tail, and grayish patches on the belly. The female has a yellowish olive head and rump, and gray underparts

and back. Juveniles resemble adult females, but are duller with washes of dull yellow on the head, back, and rump.

DISTRIBUTION

The pine grosbeak is an extremely widespread species that inhabits the boreal forest and montane forest regions of both North America and Eurasia. It occurs from coast to coast in suitable habitats on both continents. Pine grosbeaks sporadically irrupt from their usual wintering regions and may then be abundant in areas where they are not commonly seen.

HABITAT

The pine grosbeak breeds in conifer forest in both the northern boreal region and in montane areas in the Rocky Mountains. During the winter they occur more widely in various kinds of forest.

BEHAVIOR

The pine grosbeak is a rather tame species. It is a social bird that often occurs in flocks during the non-breeding season. The territorial song is a series of warbled notes. There is also a variety of simple, high-pitched chirps, often given in flight. Males feed females as part of the courtship ritual.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

The pine grosbeak feeds on seeds and small fruits of various kinds. They also eat buds and insects, and mostly forage in trees and shrubs.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Breeding pairs are monogamous and solitary. The female builds a cup-shaped nest of twigs, plant fibers, and rootlets, lined with moss, lichen, fine grass, and rootlets. It is located on the limb of a tree or shrub about 2–25 ft (0.6–7.6 m) above the ground. Two to five blue-green eggs dotted with black, purple, and brown are incubated by the female for 13–15 days. The altricial young are brooded by the female, fed by both parents, and fledge in 13–20 days. Like many finches, both males and females develop gular pouches during the nesting season to carry food to their young. One brood per year.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. The pine grosbeak is a widespread and abundant species, but it is vulnerable to habitat loss due to logging.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

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Western Bird Guide: pine grosbeak
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Pinicola enucleator 8-10″ (20-25 cm). Near size of Robin; a large, tame "winter" finch with a stubby bill, longish tail. Not a true Grosbeak. Flight undulates deeply. Male, adult: Dull rose-red, dark wings with two white bars. Male, immature: Similar to the gray female, but with a touch of russet on the head and rump. Female: Gray, with two white wing bars; head and rump tinged with dull yellow.

Voice: Call, a whistled tee-tew-tew, suggesting that of Greater Yellowlegs, but finch-like; also a musical chee-vli.

Range: Boreal forests of N. Hemisphere; winters irruptively southward.

Habitat: Conifers; in winter, other trees.

WordNet: pine grosbeak
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: large grosbeak of coniferous forests of Old and New Worlds
  Synonym: Pinicola enucleator

Wikipedia: Pine Grosbeak
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Pine Grosbeak
Adult male
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Subclass: Neornithes
Infraclass: Neognathae
Superorder: Neoaves
Order: Passeriformes
Suborder: Passeri
Infraorder: Passerida
Superfamily: Passeroidea
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Pinicola
Species: P. enucleator
Binomial name
Pinicola enucleator
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Breeding range
Adult female

The Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada, and in subarctic Fennoscandia and Siberia. This species is a very rare vagrant to temperate Europe; in all of Germany for example, not more than 4 individuals and often none at all have been recorded each year since 1980[1]

Contents

Description and ecology

Immature male
Front view of female, notice forked tail, Gatineau Park, Quebec

Adults have a long forked black tail, black wings with white wing bars and a large bill. Adult males have a rose-red head, back and rump. Adult females are olive-yellow on the head and rump and grey on the back and underparts. Young birds have a less contrasting plumage overall, appearing shaggy when they moult their colored head plumage.

Its voice is geographically variable, and includes a whistled pui pui pui or chii-vli. The song is a short musical warble.

The breeding habitat of the Pine Grosbeak is coniferous forests. They nest on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a conifer. This bird is a permanent resident through most of its range; in the extreme north or when food sources are scarce, they may migrate further south.

The Pine Grosbeak forages in trees and bushes. It mainly eats seeds, buds, berries and insects. Outside of the nesting season, it often feeds in flocks.

Systematics and evolution

The Pine Grosbeak, together with its Himalayan relative the Crimson-browed Finch (P. subhimachala), represents an ancient divergence from the same stock that also gave rise to the true bullfinches (Pyrrhula). The Pinicola lineage diverged from its relatives perhaps a dozen million years ago, during the Clarendonian.[2]

At the same time, the evolutionary radiation of Pyrrhula throughout Eurasia and the Holarctic expansion of the closely related Leucosticte mountain finches and relatives began. These genera evolved in the interior of Asia, and thus the original Pinicola stock was probably already a conifer forest bird living to the north of the Himalayas. The separation of the modern species is likely the result of climate change which displaced Pinicola habitat to subarctic northern and subalpine Himalayan regions. Possibly, the ancestors of the North American Pine Grosbeaks were wind-blown individuals which arrived via the northern Pacific, as the Bering Land Bridge was generally submerged in the Late Miocene.[2]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Töpfer (2007)
  2. ^ a b Marten & Johnson (1986), Arnaiz-Villena et al. (2001)

References

  • Arnaiz-Villena, A.; Guillén, J.; Ruiz-del-Valle, V.; Lowy, E.; Zamora, J.; Varela, P.; Stefani, D. & Allende, L.M. (2001): Phylogeography of crossbills, bullfinches, grosbeaks, and rosefinches. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 58(8): 1159–1166. doi:10.1007/PL00000930 PDF fulltext
  • BirdLife International (BLI) (2008). Pinicola enucleator. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 May 2009.
  • Marten, Jill A. & Johnson, Ned K. (1986): Genetic relationships of North American cardueline finches. Condor 88(4): 409-420. DjVu fulltext PDF fulltext
  • Töpfer, Till (2007): Nachweise seltener Vogeltaxa (Aves) in Sachsen aus der ornithologischen Sammlung des Museums für Tierkunde Dresden [Records of rare bird taxa (Aves) in Saxony from the ornithological collection of the Zoological Museum Dresden]. Faunistische Abhandlungen 26(3): 63-101 [German with English abstract]. PDF fulltext

External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pinicola enucleator

Further reading

Book

  • Adkisson, C. S. 1999. Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator). In The Birds of North America, No. 456 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Thesis

  • Adkisson CS. Ph.D. (1972). AN ANALYSIS OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND VOCAL GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN NORTH AMERICAN PINE GROSBEAKS, PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR (AVES). University of Michigan, United States -- Michigan.

Articles

  • Adkisson CS. (1977). Morphological Variation in North American Pine Grosbeaks. Wilson Bulletin. vol 89, no 3. p. 380-395.
  • Adkisson CS. (1981). Geographic Variation in Vocalizations and Evolution of North American Pine Grosbeaks Pinicola-Enucleator. Condor. vol 83, no 4. p. 277-288.
  • Arnaiz-Villena A, Guillen J, Ruiz-de-Valle V, Lowy E, Zamora J, Varela P, Stefani D & Allende LM. (2001). Phylogeography of crossbills, bullfinches, grosbeaks, and rosefinches. Cell Mol Life Sci. vol 58, no 8. p. 1159-1166.
  • Babenko VG & Redkin YA. (1999). Ornithogeographical characteristics of the Low Amur basin. Zool Zhurnal. vol 78, no 3. p. 398-408.
  • Boev Z. (1999). Earliest finds of crossbills (genus Loxia) (Aves: Fringillidae) from Varshets (NW Bulgaria). Geologica Balcanica. vol 29, no 3-4. p. 51-57.
  • Brotons L, Monkkonen M, Huhta E, Nikula A & Rajasarkka A. (2003). Effects of landscape structure and forest reserve location on old-growth forest bird species in Northern Finland. Landscape Ecology. vol 18, no 4. p. 377-393.
  • Davies C & Sharrock JTR. (2000). The European Bird Report: Passerines. British Birds. vol 93, no 9. p. 415-427.
  • Desgranges JL & Rondeau G. (1995). CHANGES IN THE BIRD COMMUNITIES OF A BALSAM FIR WHITE BIRCH FOREST FOLLOWING AN INSECT PEST EPIDEMIC. For Chron. vol 71, no 2. p. 201-210.
  • Dunn EH. (1989). Are Pine Grosbeaks Increasing at Bird Feeders in Ontario Canada. Ontario Birds. vol 7, no 3. p. 87-91.
  • Fuiimaki Y, Toda A & Yoshida S. (1979). Rosy Finch Leucosticte-Arctoa New-Record and Pine Grosbeak Pinicola-Enucleator New-Record from Hidaka Mountains Central Hokkaido Japan. Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology. vol 11, no 1. p. 67-69.
  • Groth, J. G. 1994. A mitochondrial cytochrome b phylogeny of cardueline finches. Journal für Ornithologie, 135: 31.
  • Groth, J. G. 1998. Molecular phylogeny of the cardueline finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers. Ostrich, 69: 401.
  • Kinch B. (2006). Northern Shrike preys on Pine Grosbeak. Ontario Birds. vol 24, no 3. p. 160-161.
  • Koenig WD & Knops JMH. (2001). Seed-crop size and eruptions of North American boreal seed-eating birds. Journal of Animal Ecology. vol 70, no 4. p. 609-620.
  • Mikaelian I, Ley DH, Claveau R, Lemieux M & Berube J-P. (2001). Mycoplasmosis in evening and pine grosbeaks with conjunctivitis in Quebec. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. vol 37, no 4. p. 826-830.
  • Mills A. (1986). Correlations among Winter Finch Numbers at Ottawa Canada 1958-1983. Ontario Birds. vol 4, no 1. p. 30-32.
  • Peck MK, Coady G, Binsfeld G & Konze KR. (2004). First documented nest record of Pine Grosbeak in Ontario. Ontario Birds. vol 22, no 1. p. 2-8.
  • Pittaway R. (1989). Pine Grosbeaks Using Bird Feeders. Ontario Birds. vol 7, no 2. p. 65-67.
  • Pittaway R. (1998). Two song types of the pine grosbeak. Ontario Birds. vol 16, no 1. p. 38-39.
  • Pruitt WO, Jr. (2005). Why and how to study a snowcover. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 119, no 1. p. 118-128.
  • Pulliainen E. (1979). On the Breeding of the Pine Grosbeak Pinicola-Enucleator in Northeastern Finland. Ornis Fennica. vol 56, no 4. p. 156-162.
  • Pulliainen E, Saari L & Tunkkari P. (2002). Life strategy of Finnish pine grosbeaks Pinicola enucleator. Aquilo Ser Zoologica. vol 30, p. 83-96.
  • Spicer GS. (1978). A New Species and Several New Host Records of Avian Nasal Mites Acarina Rhinonyssinae Turbinoptinae. Journal of Parasitology. vol 64, no 5. p. 891-894.
  • Stephen LJ & Walley WJ. (2000). Alcohol intoxication contributing to mortality in Bohemian Waxwings and a Pine Grosbeak. Blue Jay. vol 58, no 1. p. 33-35.
  • Stradi R, Celentano G & Nava D. (1995). Separation and identification of carotenoids in bird's plumage by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection. Journal of Chromatography B Biomedical Applications. vol 670, no 2. p. 337-348.
  • Stradi R, Celentano G & Nava D. (1995). SEPARATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF CAROTENOIDS IN BIRDS PLUMAGE BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY DIODE-ARRAY DETECTION. J Chromatogr B-Biomed Appl. vol 670, no 2. p. 337-348.
  • Stradi R, Pini E & Celentano G. (2001). Carotenoids in bird plumage: the complement of red pigments in the plumage of wild and captive bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula). Comp Biochem Physiol B-Biochem Mol Biol. vol 128, no 3. p. 529-535.
  • Stradi R, Rossi E, Celentano G & Bellardi B. (1996). Carotenoids in bird plumage: The pattern in three Loxia species and in Pinicola enucleator. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology B. vol 113, no 2. p. 427-432.
  • Svingen D & Rogers TH. (1994). Winter Season: December 1, 1993 - February 28, 1994: Idaho/Western Montana Region. National Audubon Society Field Notes. vol 48, no 2. p. 228-229.
  • Taylor P. (1979). Interspecific Vocal Mimicry by Pine Grosbeaks Pinicola-Enucleator. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 93, no 4. p. 436-437.
  • Taylor P. (1996). Winter songs of the Pine Grosbeak. Blue Jay. vol 54, no 2. p. 82-84.
  • Topp CM. (2004). EPSCoR graduate fellowship phase I, Alaska genomic diversity (2003-2004). Arctic Science Conference Abstracts. vol 55, no September 29.
  • Virkkala R. (1987). Effects of Forest Management on Birds Breeding in Northern Finland. Annales Zoologici Fennici. vol 24, no 4. p. 281-294.
  • Virkkala R. (1991). Population Trends of Forest Birds in a Finnish Lapland Landscape of Large Habitat Blocks Consequences of Stochastic Environmental Variation or Regional Habitat Alteration. Biological Conservation. vol 56, no 2. p. 223-240.
  • Wolfe DFG. (1996). Opportunistic winter water acquisition by Pine Grosbeaks. Wilson Bulletin. vol 108, no 1. p. 186-187.

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Animal Encyclopedia. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Western Bird Guide. Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson. Copyright © 1990 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pine Grosbeak".  Read more