Evening Grosbeak (Presumed Type 4) by Mark Linardi/Macaulay Library. Evening Grosbeak It was named in 1825 based on erroneous accounts that they became vocal and active only “at the approach of night.” This erroneous belief persisted for … In a large sampling of grosbeaks in Pennsylvania during winter, males weighed from 38.7 to 86.1 g (1.37 to 3.04 oz), with an average of 60 g (2.1 oz), while females weighed from 43.2 to 73.5 g (1.52 to 2.59 oz), with an average of 58.7 g (2.07 oz… It is an extremely rare vagrant to the British Isles, with just two records so far. eBird map. gradual and steady drop in frequency. Type 1 is found mostly in the Pacific northwest and central Rocky Mountains, Type 2 is found mostly in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Mountains of California and Oregon, Type 3 is found mostly around the Great Lakes and in New England and southeast Canada, Type 4 is found mostly in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and Type 5 is found mostly in the mountains of central Mexico and southern Arizona. Evening Grosbeaks tend to eat seeds of maples, ashes, apples, box elder, cherries, Russian olive, and occasionally pines (Gillihan and Byers 2001). Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus). At bird feeders, very fond of sunflower seeds. The species’ expansion was also supported by the proliferation of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) and a fondness for sunflower seeds at a growing numbers of bird feeders across the East (Bonter and Harvey 2008). Instead, nomadic movements allow a species to take advantage of food resources that occur in unpredictable locations and at unpredictable times of year. A couple of our favorite recordings where multiple types have been known to co-occur include: Recordings by Aaron Bowman recently confirmed Type 1 in north coastal Alaska. Females/immatures are grayish overall with a yellow wash on the neck. Known to occasionally overlap in range with Types 2, 3, and 4, including during the breeding season. evident in spectrogram. There are two ways you can help. In migration and winter, may be equally common in deciduous groves in woodlands and semi-open country. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.599. This area does not have a lot of Evening Grosbeak habitat, but it seems plausible that the species does occur on high mountain ridges. Huge bill allows it to crack large seeds with ease. The nest is built on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a tree. These are social birds that are often found in flocks, particularly in winter. Adult males are mustard yellow below with a brighter yellow eyebrow. Eats some insects in summer. Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news. Population declines are due, in part, to habitat loss of mature diverse forests and forest management practices aimed at reducing spruce budworm numbers (Bonter and Harvey 2008). Its eastward spread may have been helped by both the planting of box elders (a favorite food tree) across northern prairies, and the abundance of bird feeders in the Northeast. The evening grosbeak ranges in length from 16 to 22 cm (6.3 to 8.7 in) and spans 30 to 36 cm (12 to 14 in) across the wings. Sometimes, they will swallow fine gravel. Additional Notes/Irruptions: Bill is the shortest and thickest of all the types (Grinnell 1916). History: Core breeding If you record an Evening Grosbeak, please enter it as “Evening Grosbeak” in eBird, upload the recording to your checklist, and send the link to the checklist to the authors (contact information below) for assistance with identification to specific call type. Please address comments or questions on this article to the authors at may6@cornell.edu or info@finchnetwork.org, tspahr44@gmail.com, or ajs535@cornell.edu, *Matthew A. Additional Notes/Irruptions: Bill thick, but slightly less slender than birds in Central Rockies and Mexico (Grinnell 1916). 5 Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus montanus (Ridgway, Please be sure to record any Evening Grosbeak you hear. Similar to Type 2, but For more on Type 1 Evening Grosbeak see here:https://ebird.org/news/evening-grosbeak-call-types-of-north-america, Evening call a long-sounding “cheeeerr” Type 5 flight calls are quite ringing,