Evening Grosbeak

Coccothraustes vespertinus

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family FRINGILLIDAE - Subfamily Carduelinae

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

Large and brightly colored, the Evening Grosbeak is a noticeable winter visitor to bird feeders during irruption years. When a flock settles down to feed, it can clean out a surprisingly large amount of sunflower seeds in a short time.

Cool Facts

• Winter irruptions occur frequently. Go here for an animated map showing the large irruption of 1997-1998, documented by The Winter Finch Survey.

• A female Evening Grosbeak collided with a small airplane in Colorado at 1.9 km (6,200 ft) above ground, (3.8 km (12,468 ft) above sea level). Whether this high altitude is unusual for this species is unknown.

• Evening Grosbeaks appear not to have a well developed song used in the normal functions of mate attraction and territory defense.

• For an analysis of the probability of seeing an Evening Grosbeak during the winter, based on FeederWatch data, go here.

Description

• Size: 16-18 cm (6-7 in)
• Wingspan: 30-36 cm (12-14 in)
• Weight: 53-74 g (1.87-2.61 ounces)

• Large, robust finch.
• Tail relatively short.
• Heavy conical bill pale greenish yellow.
• Large white patch in wing obvious in flight.

Sex Differences

Male bright, female duller.

Male

Brownish black head with black crown. Yellow forehead and eyestripe (supercillium). Wing, tail, and upper tail coverts black. Dark brown nape fading to yellow on back. Secondaries and coverts white, creating large square white patch on back of wing in flight. Dark brownish throat fades to brownish-yellow underparts, becoming brightest under tail. Legs pink.

Female

Head and upperparts mostly grayish brown. Weak dark malar stripe. Yellowish wash on sides of neck. Uppertail coverts black with white spotting. Wings and tail black with white and gray patches in wing. Throat and underparts pale grayish brown. White under tail.

Immature

Juveniles similar to female.

Similar Species

• American Goldfinch much smaller, with small bill, and thin wingbars instead of large white patches in the wings.

Sound

Call note a burry chirp.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from extreme southeastern Yukon southward to mountains of northern California, and southward through the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. Isolated populations in Black Hills of South Dakota and Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan. Breeds eastward through Newfoundland and the northern United States.

Winter Range

Resident throughout breeding range, but periodically abandons the northern part of range and wanders south to the southern United States. Numbers wandering south varies from year to year.

Habitat

• Breeds in coniferous forests.
• Winters in coniferous or deciduous forests, and in urban and suburban areas.
• Comes readily to bird feeders.

Food

Wide variety of small fruits and seeds, especially maples. Also insects and other invertebrates.

Behavior

Foraging

Powerful bill allows it to crack very large seeds, such as cherry pits.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest a flattened loose saucer of small twigs and roots, lined with grasses, rootlets, lichens, or pine needles placed in tree or large shrub.

Egg Description

Light blue to blue-green with brown scrawls concentrated on large end.

Clutch Size

Usually 3-4 eggs. Range: 2-5.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with sparse down.

Conservation Status

Abundant and widespread species; not listed as threatened or endangered.

Other Names

Gros-bec errant (French)
Pepitero norteño (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Gillihan, S. W., and B. Byers. 2001. Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus). In The Birds of North America, No. 599 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.