Blue-black Grassquit Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

A very small songbird with a cone-shaped bill. Adult male in breeding plumage is dark blue-black overall, with dull black wings.

Female is warm brown above and buffy-white below with streaks on the breast. Wings are darker brown, with two faint buffy wingbars.

A very small songbird with a conelike bill and a rounded tail. Adult male is iridescent blue-black overall.

Immature male has a mix of blue-black and brownish feathers on the head and body, creating a distinctive splotchy look.

Uses pointed, cone-shaped bill to feed primarily on the seeds of grasses.

Female is brownish above and whitish below, with streaks across the breast and down the flanks.

Female is buffy-white below, with streaks forming a band across the breast.

Male performs frequent display flights from conspicuous low perches.

Male performs frequent display flights—jumping up from a perch, flapping his wings, and then singing just before landing.

Typically found in grassy, weedy areas, such as roadsides and field edges.

In slow motion, additional details of male’s display flight—including the flashing of white underwing patches—become more apparent.

Species in This Family