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Birders flock to unusual sight Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell A rare sight in Oregon, this rose-breasted grosbeak has been seen in an east Medford yard recently. Normally the bird is found east of the Rocky Mountains, where it raises its young before wintering in Central America. The rose-breasted grosbeak is a rare bird here, especially in winter By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune If you're in a certain east Medford neighborhood and you see scruffy-looking people tiptoeing around bushes with binoculars, wait before calling the police. There's a rare bird in town. A rose-breasted grosbeak has been seen hanging around a bird feeder since Saturday. "I certainly have never seen one in Oregon," said Pepper Trail, ornithologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland. There have been only 50 sightings in the state ever recorded, he said. "It's considered to be vagrant, which means it's out of place." "I've seen the bird before but never in the county," said Dick Cronberg, Mail Tribune birding columnist who saw the immature male Monday. "We get the western version, which is the black-headed grosbeak," he said. Both species are neotropic birds, which winter in Central America and raise their young in North America. The rose-breasted normally is found east of the Rocky Mountains, however. "This little guy shouldn't be in the West," said Cronberg. "Second of all, he shouldn't be here in the winter, so it's a double whammy." Cronberg said the last rose-breasted sighting he knew of in Jackson County was about three years ago in the Eagle Point/White City area, during the May migration. "If it's going to show up, that's when you'd expect it," he said. While birds are following instinct, migration mistakes can occur when a bird is thrown off by a storm or when it makes a key directional error, said Trail. "Songbirds, who migrate mostly at night, use the stars," he said. "They also can use magnetic fields." Like its cousin the black-headed grosbeak, the rose-breasted is a stocky bird, about 8 inches long. "Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds" describes the male bird as black and white, with a large triangle of rose-red on the breast and a thick pale bill. The female is streaked brown, like a large sparrow or female purple finch, recognized by the large "grosbeak" bill, white wing bars, striped crown, broad white eyebrow stripe and dark cheek. Its call is described as a metallic "kik" or "kek." Its song is made up of rising and falling passages, resembling a robin's song but more fluent and mellow. "They are just absolutely marvelous singers," said Cronberg. While a straggler's survival may be compromised, he said, it often finds its way home in the summer. Trail said survival, no matter what the conditions, is an issue for birds. "Most birds have a pretty low survival rate from year to year," he said. This little guy may do all right. "He'll probably stick around as long as he has food," he said. "If there's a real cold snap, he might take off." Cronberg said the bird may not only survive, he might return. "The imprinting in his brain might bring him back next year," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.