Name: Evening Grosbeak

Description: The Evening Grosbeak is a plump, sturdy Finch with a thick, prominent, cone-shaped bill. Its bill is bone-colored during winter, but undergoes a dramatic change in pigmentation in early spring, matching the green of fresh deciduous buds and leaves, as well as the springtime needles that tip the spruce boughs around the bird's nesting site. Evening Grosbeaks can be found from the southeastern Yukon territory south to the mountains of northern California and into the Rocky Mountains and Mexico. Isolated populations have been seen in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. The Evening Grosbeak also breeds eastward through Newfoundland and the northern United States.

Other Names: None

Color: The plumage of the adult male is spectacular, with golden-yellow body feathers and a conspicuous gold band across the forehead. The under parts are yellow and the crown and neck feathers resemble glossy, rich-brown velvet. Tail and wing feathers are jet black except for a snow-white shoulder patch. Females are comparatively subdued in appearance. Their bodies are smoky silver-gray with areas of yellow on the sides, nape and rump. The part of the wing lining nearest the body is bright yellow and the black tail and wing feathers have distinct white patches. Her under parts are lighter gray, and her under tail coverts and chin usually buff and silvery white.

Sound: The Evening Grosbeak's only song has been described as “a series of abrupt warbles.”

Preferred Environment: The Evening Grosbeak’s preferred habitat is a thick coniferous forest, but it has successfully adapted to mixed deciduous habitats.

Nesting Habits: The Evening Grosbeak’s nest is a flattened, loose saucer of small twigs and roots lined with grasses, rootlets, lichens or pine needles placed in a tree or large shrub.

Food Preference: Evening Grosbeak's feed on safflower, sunflower, suet and millet.