Yellow Grosbeaks - Rio Rico, Arizona

On 9 July Gary Graves found and photographed two ABA Code-4 Yellow Grosbeaks (Pheucticus chrysopeplus)  at Rio Rico Ponds (between Tubac and Nogales along I-19) in Southeast Arizona. The first bird was a male found in a mesquite/elderberry grove. Later, Josh Stewart found a female or immature bird in the same area.

The first ABA-area record of Yellow Grosbeak was from 1971 in Arizona with most records comingfrom late May to late July.  A California report of Yellow Grosbeak was rejected by the CBRC (2007) (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.). In Mexico, Yellow Grosbeak is partially migratory and is found from central Sonora to Guatemala.   In Mexico, they occur in deciduous and semi-deciduous forest and edge, thornscrub and clearings.