The story of the bird
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) is the bird birders most often describe with the same word: stunning. The male’s black-and-white patterning is sharp - black hood, white underparts, white wing patches - and then the rose-red inverted triangle on the breast, brilliant against white, is the detail that makes people reach for their phone. The female is brown-streaked and easily overlooked, different enough from the male that casual observers routinely count them as different species at the same feeder.
The grosbeak’s bill is large and conical, built to crack seeds too hard for most passerines. Sunflower seeds at a feeder bring them reliably in migration through the eastern United States. The bird stops, eats, moves on northward. By June it is in Canadian forest. By August it is starting south again.
The Audubon plate shows the male in three-quarter profile, the chest triangle at full depth of rose-red against white, the black hood at full contrast. The triangular rose marking is one of the most graphically distinct field marks in North American birds. On the 16x20 and 24x30 sizes the fine black streaking on the white underparts below the triangle becomes visible.
Paper and finish
Unframed prints come on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm, a heavyweight cotton rag with a soft matte surface and true archival life. The surface holds fine lines and subtle colour gradients without glare, which matters for Audubon-tradition work where the cream ground needs to read as paper, not as a white field. The framed option is set in a classic moulding, glazed and ready to hang, in black, white or natural.
Sizes
Three sizes: 8x10, 16x20 and 24x30 inches, framed or unframed. Prints from $39. Framed from $99.
A high-resolution digital download is also available if you would rather print it yourself.
