Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Aves

Ultramarine Grosbeak Passerina brissonii

The male Ultramarine Grosbeak, as pictured here, is a striking shade of blue, and the female is a warm cocoa brown with lighter underparts. Ultramarines are very similar to the Blue-Black Grosbeaks, though much smaller. They usually live together in pairs , and occasionally perch prominently on top of bushes or trees in the early morning hours. Males have a fairly loud musical song which is slow at first, then slurs characteristically downward. Though fairly common in the undergrowth and woodland edges of eastern South America, the Ultramarine grosbeak is reclusive and very hard to spot.

~A Fly in the Sky © 1996