Evening Grosbeak
Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus
Sound (104 KB)
DESCRIPTION:
Size:
8 inches (20 cm)
Abundance:
• Common
Quick Identification:
• Yellow body
• Dark head with yellow eyebrow
• Black tail and wings with white patch on inner wing
• Wing linings yellow
Identification Tips:
• Large, pale, conical bill
• Short tail
• Distinctive call note often given in flight
• Frequently gathers in flocks
Male:
• Yellow forehead, supercilium and body
• Brown head and upperback
• Black wings and tail
• Large white patch in wing
Female:
• Gray upperparts
• Pale gray underparts
• Black wings and tail
• White patches in wings
Similar species:
• The male Evening Grosbeak is instantly recognizable. Females have large bills, short
tails and distinctive call notes.
HABITAT:
Conifer forests, open mixed woodlands, mountains, suburban areas, feeders with sunflower
seeds, roadsides. Gregarious.
NESTING & FEEDING:
BREEDING: Coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, second growth, parks.
Primarily at higher altitudes in coniferous forest in w. 2? broods. Mating system is
believed to be monogamous.
DISPLAYS: Courting male crouches low, puffs out plumage, extends and rapidly quivers
wings; male and female may alternately bow. Male does not sing during display but female
may occasionally call; male may occasionally feed female.
NEST: Frail structure usually well out on horizontal limb 20 to 100 feet above ground; of
twigs, sticks, roots, lined with fine materials. Female builds nest.
EGGS: 3-4 Blue or blue-green, marked with brown, gray, purple, occasionally black.
1.0" (24 mm).
CHICK DEVELOPMENT: Female incubates. Incubation takes 11-14 days. Development is altricial
(immobile, downless, eyes closed, fed). Young leave the nest after 13-14 days. Both sexes
tend young.
DIET: Insects only in breeding season, for up to 20% of diet; seeds of trees and shrubs,
occasionally of forbs; juniper berries and pinon nuts in w mountains. Fond of maple sap
and buds of deciduous trees and shrubs. Nestlings fed well-masticated insect larvae and
crushed seeds of fleshy fruits. Often feeds on dirt and gravel for minerals and salts.
CONSERVATION: Winters s sporadically to Oaxaca. Frequent highway casualty when seeking
road salts. Rare cowbird host. Breeding range expanded e since 1900.
NOTES: Male feeds incubating female. Very tame. Highly irruptive. Wings longest relative
to body size of all North America finches.
WORLD RANGE:
Coccothraustes vespertina EVENING GROSBEAK. Coniferous and mixed
woodland, second growth, towns. Sw,nc British Columbia, n Alberta, s Mackenzie and c
Saskatchewan e across s Canada to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and s to c Calif., wc,e
Nevada, c,se Arizona, sc New Mexico and e from c Colorado, c Wyoming, wc Montana and wc
Alberta e across s Canada to nc,ne Minnesota, n Wisconsin, n Michigan, n New York and
Massachusetts to n New England. High mts. of Mexico in two disjunct populations. W
Chihuahua, w Durango, e Sinaloa. Ec Michoacán, México, Morelos, s Puebla, wc Veracruz to
nw Oaxaca. Winters irregularly s to s U.S. with irruptions beyond usual winter range.
Increasing eastward, often breeding outside the usual range given above.
