IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM


SPECIES:


Rose-breasted Grosbeak


HOW MANY:


1 male


REPORTER:


Robert N. Lehman
2023 S. Ridge Point Way
Boise, Idaho 83712
208-343-1558


REPORTER EMAIL:


boblehman@msn.com


OTHER OBSERVERS:


I was alone at the time of the observation.


DATE REPORT PREPARED:


29 February 2008


DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:


10 May 2007


LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:


Along the Boise Greenbelt, next to the Boise River, 0.4 km E. of the intersection of Warm Springs Ave., and E. Windsong Dr., Boise, Idaho.


HABITAT:


Riparian. Overstory of large cottonwoods. Understory a deciduous thicket.


CONDITIONS:


Observation occurred at 0935 and lasted about 2 minutes from 1st sighting to the time the bird flew out of sight. Optics used was a pair of binoculars, Eagle Optics Ranger, 8 X 42. Bird was 25 m or less from my position when observed. My position was the paved trail of the Greenbelt. The bird was below me, between the trail and river. I was walking towards the sun (headed east) but was in a shaded part of the trail at the time of the observation. It was a clear, calm morning(as I recall).


DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:


Yes, another day after the observation


DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:


No, not at all


WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:



DESCRIPTION:


Observed the bird from the back (initially) and from the front (after it changed position on its perch). Initially, I noted the solid black head and back and white rump. Two or three white spots located mid wing were exposed. When the bird shifted its position on its perch I had a full frontal view, and then noted the large conical beak, black head, and solid, rose-colored V on the upper breast. The rest of the breast and belly were solid white (no streaking or barring).


BEHAVIOR:


I spotted the bird in descending flight in a riparian thicket. It landed on a horizontal branch near the ground, facing away from me. It remained there for 1-2 minutes, shifted on its perch so that it was facing me, and 15-20 secs later flew in the opposite direction from which it had come, in ascending flight, and landed in a cottonwood about 50 meters east of my position, and 5-10 m from the trail. The bird remainded there briefly (< 30 secs), and flew towards the river and disappeared in the overstory trees.


HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?


Initially, I was confident that I had a male rose-breasted grosbeak. There was no question of it after the bird turned around and faced me. The rose-colored V was unmistakable and diagnostic.


HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?


In my experience, no species in North America can be mistaken for a male rose-breasted grosbeak, when viewed as closely and under the circumstances that I observed this bird.


EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):


I grew up in northwestern Ohio and during my youth and teens regularly saw rose-breasted grosbeaks in the spring and summer. I have been in the west for >30 years, but periodically, travel to the east with my wife for family visits (we do a springtime trip once every 2-3 years specifically to see the spring passerine migration). We usually see a few individuals of this species during these trips. In fact, we had been in Ohio just a few days before the Boise encounter (from about 28 April-5 May 2007), and had observed rose-breasted grosbeaks (males and females) on a number of occasions. I am accustomed to seeing black-headed grosbeaks in Idaho, but the males of the 2 species bear little resemblance to each other.


GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:


I have been watching birds since about the age of 10 (for nearly 45 years) and I am a retired wildlife biologist with nearly 30 years of federal service in the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and U.s. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division. I also worked for the California Department of Fish and Game and in the private sector. During most of my professional life I specialized in the research and managment of birds of prey.


WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:


None