I am especially thankful when I see one of my photographs on a magazine cover. This photograph of a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was on American Bird Conservancy’s 2016 Annual Report. The photographed was taken at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Cook County on a springtime rosebud tree.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a relative of the American Robin. The obvious difference is their unmistakable colors; a crimson breast on a white chest framed by its black head and wings. Along with its colors the other way to identify a Rose-breasted Grosbeak is through its song. When you think you hear a robin listen a little closer, if you hear “an extra sweetness to their song as if the bird had operatic training” it’s the Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Click on the link to see the American Bird Conservancy 2016 Annual Report.