I had a hard time identifying this bird because it is an immature female. The males are blue, and that's what most guides will show. Though I've never noticed one before, they have been in New Mexico a long time. Here are two quotes from 1928:
In New Mexico, according to Mrs. Bailey (1928) its "cheery song can be heard from orchards, groves, bosques, mesquites, thickets, and sunflower patches."
Nesting: The nesting habits of the western blue grosbeak are evidently very similar to those of its eastern relative. Mrs. Bailey (1928) says that, in New Mexico, the nest is placed in "tall weeds, vines, bushes, willows, and fruit trees" and is "made of grasses and rootlets." She says further: "In twenty-three nests located during a period of five years, twenty-one had snake skin, as a foundation."
~”Bent Life History”~
Thanks so much for commenting on my photo of the Western Blue Grosbeak. It's one of the few SOOC shots that I have in my project.