24 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April 



THE EVENING GROSBEAK. 



( Cocothraustes vespej'hna. J 



By C. J. Young. 



The readers of The Ottawa Naturalist who are interested 

 to any extent in our birds, will learn with interest that a migra- 

 tion of ev'^ening grosbeaks has occurred this winter in Ontario. 

 This bird always creates an amount of interest, partly by reason 

 of its rarity and beautiful plumage, and partly because its summer 

 home and breeding habits are still but imperfectly known. 



It visits Ontario at long intervals ; this year it has been seen 

 in pairs and small floi ks in the neighborhood of Kingston, Ont., — 

 even within the city limits. A beautiful male was procured by 

 Mr. E. Beaupr6 on Feb. 23rd, which I saw in the flesh shortly 

 after it was shot. A pair was secured out of a flock at Cataraqui 

 during the same week, and birds had been observed at Williams- 

 ville during January. In each case they were feeding on the seeds 

 of the Manitoba maple {Negiindo aceroides), a tree that only of 

 late years has assumed sufficient proportions in Ontario to bear 

 fruit. It will be interesting to learn whether this bird has been 

 observed elsewhere in Ontario during the present winter. 



The evening grosbeak is a rare bird everywhere, though of 

 more frequent occurrence in the west than in the east. It was 

 first described by Mr. William Cooper, of New York, from a 

 specimen obtained by Mr. Schoolcraft near Sault Ste. Marie in 

 April, 1823. The next specimen recorded was obtained in the 

 month of August in the same year by Major Delafield, north-west 

 from Lake Superior. From that time to the present the bird ha? 

 been occasionally recorded in Canada, but as far as I know there 

 is no record of the discovery of the nest except from the United 

 States. 



According to the late Mr. Mcllwraith, of Hamilton, Ont., the 

 first report of its appearance in the settled parts of Ontario was in 

 the year 1866, when in the month of May two were obtained by 

 the late Dr. T. J, Cottle at Woodstock. The next record was in 

 1871, when they were observed in the spring near London, Onl. 



