Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak, adult male

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Evening Grosbeak, adult female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

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.

Description

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

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

Sex Differences

Male bright, female duller.

Sound

Call note a burry chirp.

Conservation Status

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

Other Names

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

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.

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.