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 Newfoundland and south to northern New England, Minnesota, the mountains of Mexico, and California. Spends winters south to California, Texas, and the Gulf Coast states; 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

Nuts, Sunflower

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.