Blue-black Grassquit Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBlue-black Grassquit
Adult male
A very small songbird with a cone-shaped bill. Adult male in breeding plumage is dark blue-black overall, with dull black wings.
© Josanel Sugasti -photographyandbirdingtourspanama / Macaulay LibraryPanamá, September 13, 2019Female
Female is warm brown above and buffy-white below with streaks on the breast. Wings are darker brown, with two faint buffy wingbars.
© Claudia Brasileiro / Macaulay LibrarySão Paulo, March 28, 2015Adult male
A very small songbird with a conelike bill and a rounded tail. Adult male is iridescent blue-black overall.
© Josep del Hoyo / Macaulay LibraryColón, February 23, 2023Immature male
Immature male has a mix of blue-black and brownish feathers on the head and body, creating a distinctive splotchy look.
© Nestor Ccacya Baca / Macaulay LibraryCuzco [Cusco], October 29, 2016Adult male
Uses pointed, cone-shaped bill to feed primarily on the seeds of grasses.
© João Gava Just / Macaulay LibrarySanta Catarina, January 07, 2016Female
Female is brownish above and whitish below, with streaks across the breast and down the flanks.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryVargas, December 31, 2012Female
Female is buffy-white below, with streaks forming a band across the breast.
© Luiz Carlos Ramassotti / Macaulay LibrarySão Paulo, September 04, 2016Male
Male performs frequent display flights from conspicuous low perches.
© miguel sepulveda / Macaulay LibraryArica y Parinacota, October 16, 2021Adult male
Male performs frequent display flights—jumping up from a perch, flapping his wings, and then singing just before landing.
© Paul Molina A / Macaulay LibraryAzuay, April 08, 2021Adult male
Typically found in grassy, weedy areas, such as roadsides and field edges.
© Róger Rodríguez Bravo / Macaulay LibrarySan José, March 02, 2013Adult male
In slow motion, additional details of male’s display flight—including the flashing of white underwing patches—become more apparent.
© Paul Molina A / Macaulay LibraryAzuay, March 16, 2023Similar SpeciesIndigo Bunting
Breeding male
Breeding male Indigo Bunting is much lighter blue overall.
© Daniel Irons / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, July 01, 2016Similar SpeciesIndigo Bunting
Female/immature male
Female/immature Indigo Bunting has a whitish throat and either no streaking or limited fine streaking on the breast and underparts.
© Andrew Newmark / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, July 06, 2019Similar SpeciesBlue-black Grosbeak
Male
Blue-back Grosbeak is much larger than Blue-back Grassquit, with a massive bill. The grosbeak typically occurs in dense forest undergrowth rather than fields.
© Guillermo Saborío Vega / Macaulay LibrarySan José, August 17, 2018Similar SpeciesBlue-black Grosbeak
Female
Female Blue-back Grosbeak is a rich chocolate brown overall, without streaking, and has a huge bill.
© Juan Pablo Ligorria / Macaulay LibraryPetén, March 21, 2022Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Tanagers and Allies(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Thraupidae)
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