 Breeding evidence |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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1.3 (0.558 - 2.0)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Black-headed Grosbeaks were observed in a few scattered locations throughout the southern portion of the province, including the West Block of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Boggy Creek near Lumsden, in the area between Grasslands National Park and Big Muddy Lake, and regularly at Roche Percee. A pair carrying food and a singing male were observed on the South Saskatchewan River between Leader and Lancer, outside of the known breeding range. At Roche Percee a female was observed paired with a hybrid Black-headed X Rose-breasted Grosbeak in 2021. Two records from the boreal transition are likely stragglers, though this species is easily confused with similar songsters so may be overlooked in areas where observers may not be expecting them.
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
This distinctively patterned Black-headed Grosbeak replaces the closely related Rose-breasted along the southern edge of the province. In addition, the two species hybridize in a narrow band of overlap in the northern Great Plains (West 1962). It breeds from southern British Columbia and southern Saskatchewan through the western US to south-central Mexico, with wintering in central Mexico.
The Black-headed Grosbeak is a bird of riparian woodlands: in the Cypress Hills it seeks out streamside cottonwood stands, while along the Souris River it favoured woods of the now-extirpated American elm (Smith 1996). Understory or edge shrubbery provides nesting habitat, while taller trees offer foraging opportunities and singing posts. Vagrants may appear in a variety of wooded habitats, especially in towns and cities.
This grosbeak is a rare but regular summer resident in the Cypress Hills and lower Souris River valley (Smith 1996) and in the Qu'Appelle Valley near Lumsden. Elsewhere in the grasslands and in the parklands it is a rare transient.
Original text by Calvin Cuthbert. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Black-headed Grosbeak in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Black-headed Grosbeak in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BHGR&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]
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