The [EDIT] Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a beautiful bird. Having them as visitors at one's bird-feeders is exciting, for sure. Along with many other species of birds.
When your bird feeder is suddenly vacated and empty for a day or two, you can be sure of the culprits. It's either a sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's hawk. Both part of the accipiter family of raptors (short winged, long tailed, red-eyed & bird-eating birds).
Absolutely gorgeous specimens, especially the adults. They're plumage is a variety of drab brown and their eyes are yellow. After the first year and their first molt, their plumage turns into that spectacular cinnamon-barred chest & belly feathers, black and white banded tail and slate blue backside. The red eyes take about 5 years to turn from yellow to orange to blood red. Spectacular adult bird.
Juvenile SSH.
Those physical features are very distinct. Ornithologists claim that because of their primary diet being other birds of comparable size or smaller, their distinctive short wings and long tail help them fly very fast and in between tight trees in deciduous forests chasing & hunting other birds.
And they're relatively small raptors.
The males are about 1/3 smaller in size than the females. Scientists think that this size differential between the sexes (sexual dimorphism) is the need for the females to have more body mass to incubate their eggs.
The same sexual dimorphism exists in falcons. Hawks and Eagles also although not as drastic.
