What is the distribution range of the rose-breasted wax-billed bird?
Where are rose-breasted waxbills most common?
What is the habitat of the rose-breasted wax-billed bird?
How rare is it to see a rose-breasted waxbill?
Where is the best place to see rose-breasted waxbills?
When does the rose-breasted wax-billed bird come out?
Will rose-breasted waxbills stay in one place?
Where do rose-breasted waxbills live in winter?
How do rose-breasted waxbills survive the winter?
Where do rose-breasted waxbills live in summer?
Do rose-breasted waxbills live in groups?
Rose-breasted waxbill (Grouper) is a melodious songbird of the cardinal family. Like many other birds in this group, the males are brighter than the females, taking their name from their bright scarlet breasts and large seed-crushing beaks.
Always a welcome sight, these beautiful birds are a species that all bird watchers should take a good look at. But where exactly do rose-breasted waxbills live?
The rose-breasted waxbill is a New World bird found only in North and South America. They are neotropical migrants that breed in the northeastern United States and Canada and winter in the Caribbean, Central America, and northern South America.
Rose-breasted jaybeaks can be seen away from their breeding range when migrating north. Birdwatchers from central Texas to the Great Plains may spot these birds during their spring migration in May.
Read on to learn all about the range and migratory habits of the rose-breasted hawk.
During the breeding season, the rose-breasted waxbill has a large range in Canada and the United States
What is the distribution range of the rose-breasted wax-billed bird?
The rose-breasted waxbill ranges from central Canada in the north to northwestern South America in the south. They are migratory birds, so they don’t appear in their range at any time of the year.
Their range includes summer breeding grounds in Canada and the northeastern United States and wintering grounds in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. They can also be seen between their breeding and wintering grounds during spring and fall migrations.
Read on for a closer look at their US and Canadian releases.
Rose-breasted waxbills winter in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America
Where in the United States does the rose-breasted waxbill live?
During migration, the rose-breasted waxbill can be seen in almost any state east of the Rocky Mountains. However, their breeding range is mostly limited to the Midwest and Northeast.
Rose-breasted waxbills breed in the following areas:
- Midwest: From North Dakota to Kansas to Ohio
- northeast: Pennsylvania to Maine
- southeast: From Delaware to Northern Georgia
- southwest: Oklahoma state
Where do rose-breasted waxbills live in Canada?
Many rose-breasted waxbills cross the border to Canada to breed. Most breed in the southeast, forming the northern boundary of the U.S. breeding population. However, many migrated to breeding areas more northwest, extending into central Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Bird watchers can spot the rose-breasted waxbill breeding in the following provinces:
- british columbia
- Alberta
- Saskatchewan
- Manitoba
- ontario
- Quebec
- New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia
- prince edward island
Male and female rose-breasted waxbills in a backyard bird feeder
Where are rose-breasted waxbills most common?
During the breeding season, rose-breasted waxbills are most abundant in and around the Great Lakes region. The highest densities are in states such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Breeding birds are most common in young forests where saplings are abundant.
Read on to learn more about their preferred habitats, and where you might spot these beautiful birds.
What is the habitat of the rose-breasted wax-billed bird?
The rose-breasted waxbill prefers moist, wooded areas of the United States and Canada. They have a fairly wide range of habitat tolerance, but prefer deciduous woodlands for breeding. Fortunately, these birds have adapted to the suburbs and frequent backyard bird feeders.
Look for them in the following habitats:
- Mixed and deciduous forests
- Create gardens and parks in the suburbs
- Edges of wetlands, streams, and ponds
Woodlands are one of the best places to spot rose-breasted waxbills
How rare is it to see a rose-breasted waxbill?
Rose-breasted waxbills are common birds in their preferred habitat and at the right time of year. Their numbers have declined over the past seven decades or so, but they are still plentiful and can be abundant in some areas.
Where is the best place to see rose-breasted waxbills?
The rose-breasted wax-billed bird is widely distributed in the northeastern United States. Keep an eye out for these beautiful birds in the wooded area from early May to mid-October. They prefer young forest or woodland edge habitats bordering open areas such as rivers, roads and clearings.
During the breeding season, rose-breasted jaybills sing wonderful robin-like songs throughout the day. Singing usually peaks in the early morning and evening, and brightly colored males can be quite prominent when they call at high altitudes.
Male rose-breasted waxbill in flight
When does the rose-breasted wax-billed bird come out?
Rose-breasted waxbills are diurnal. They come out to feed in the morning and return to their habitat at night. However, they fly at night during their annual migration.
Will rose-breasted waxbills stay in one place?
The rose-breasted waxbill is a complete migratory bird. This means that all birds in the global population move between different breeding and wintering grounds each year. However, individuals often return to the same area of the United States in subsequent years.
Early strip studies showed that a large proportion of rose-breasted jaybeaks returned to the same breeding areas year after year. The same birds frequently returned to the backyard bird feeders to feed, further indicating their site fidelity during the breeding season.
It is unclear whether individuals winter in the same area each year.
Male rose-breasted waxbill bathing in water, Marion County, Illinois
Where do rose-breasted waxbills live in winter?
The rose-breasted waxbill overwinters in warm tropical and subtropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America. In winter, they live in a variety of wooded environments, from relatively dry forests to moist woodlands. They can be found at altitudes from near sea level to over 12,000 feet.
Look for overwintering waxbills in the following areas:
- southern mexico
- Belize to Panama, Central America
- Ecuador to Venezuela in northern South America
- Cuban Islands to Trinidad and Tobago
How do rose-breasted waxbills survive the winter?
The rose-breasted waxbill apparently doesn’t like the cold. These migratory birds survive the winter by simply avoiding the harsh conditions of the north. They head south each fall to enjoy the warm weather of Central and South America.
Female rose-breasted waxbill perched on a log deep in the boreal forest in Quebec, Canada
Where do rose-breasted waxbills live in summer?
Summer is the breeding season for rose-breasted waxbills. They spend the warmer months in forests, woodlands, and suburbs in the northeastern United States and southern and central Canada.
Do rose-breasted waxbills live in groups?
Both male and female rose-breasted jaybills are territorial in their spring and summer breeding grounds, so you’re less likely to see them in flocks. However, they tend to be more social when migrating and overwintering.
They are known to migrate in small flocks and flocks of up to 50 individuals have been found in South America.
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I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
