Female Pine Grosbeak

My Saturday Bird this week is the Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), a large finch with a long tail.

The species breeds in the far north of North America and Eurasia. It is an irruptive species meaning numbers can vary greatly if the birds move south for the winter. Often absurdly tame allowing close approach they will land within a few feet of an observer.

This is a female photographed in light snow at Greenwater Lake Provincial Park, Saskatchewan, Canada in the winter. Males are pinkish red and gray.