General
Evening Grosbeak: Large, stocky finch with bright yellow back, rump, and underparts. Head is brown with heavy, pale bill; bright yellow eyebrows extend onto forehead. Wings are dark with bold white secondary patches; tail is dark. Female and juvenile female are similar but grayer and with white-tipped tails; secondary wing patch is gray and base of inner primaries are white. Juvenile male resembles female but has white secondaries.
Range and Habitat
Evening Grosbeak: Breeds from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia and south to northern New England, Minnesota, the mountains of Mexico, and California. Spends winters south to California, Texas, and South Carolina; nests in coniferous forests and visits deciduous woodlands and suburban areas in the winter.
Breeding and Nesting
Evening Grosbeak: Three to five blue to blue green eggs, spotted with brown and purple, are laid in a shallow, loose cup of twigs lined with rootlets and built in a conifer.
Foraging and Feeding
Evening Grosbeak: Eats seeds of trees and shrubs, juniper berries, pinion nuts, maple sap, and buds of deciduous trees and shrubs; also takes insects during the breeding season.
Readily Eats
Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Sunflower Seed, Fruit, Commercial Mixed Bird Seed
Vocalization
Evening Grosbeak: Song is a series of short, musical whistles.
Similar Species
Evening Grosbeak: American Goldfinch is smaller, has a black cap, pink conical bill, and bright yellow upperparts and underparts.