---
title: "Rose-breasted Grosbeak"
description: "Pheucticus ludovicianus — Birds. The rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), colloquially called \"cut-throat\" due to its coloration, is a large, seed-eating grosbeak in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae)."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/rose-breasted-grosbeak
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Rose-breasted Grosbeak

> Pheucticus ludovicianus — Birds. The rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), colloquially called "cut-throat" due to its coloration, is a large, seed-eating grosbeak in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae).

- Scientific name: *Pheucticus ludovicianus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 56392
- Wikidata: [Q839834](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q839834)
- iNaturalist taxon: [10271](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10271)

## Names

- en: Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- de: Rosenbrust-Kernknacker
- es: Picogordo Degollado
- fr: Cardinal à poitrine rose
- pl: Łuszcz strojny

## Countries with the most observations

US (34382), CA (12920), MX (2538), CO (602), CR (530), PA (302), HN (259), SV (165), GT (161), NI (96), EC (73), BZ (55)

## Summary

The rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), colloquially called "cut-throat" due to its coloration, is a large, seed-eating grosbeak in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). It is primarily a foliage gleaner. Males have black heads, wings, backs, and tails, and a bright rose colored patch on their white breast. Males and females exhibit marked sexual dimorphism.
Breeding habitat consists of cool-temperate open deciduous woods throughout much of eastern North America, with migration to tropical America in winter. Rose-breasted grosbeaks have an average maximum lifespan of 7.3 years in the wild, and up to 24…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose-breasted_grosbeak

## Photo

![Rose-breasted Grosbeak](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/rose-breasted-grosbeak/medium.jpg)

Photo: Adam Jackson · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/193251980

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/rose-breasted-grosbeak?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).