Grosbeak WESTERN BIRDS 



GENUS HESPERIPHONA: WESTERN 

 EVENING GROSBEAK. 



Western Evening Grosbeak: Hesperiphona vesper- 

 tina m on tana. 



FAMILY— FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



In the western United States, breeding from north- 

 western Montana to the Sierra of central California, 

 and east to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New 

 Mexico, wintering irregularly west of the Plains, is 

 found a similar bird which is known as the Western 

 Evening Grosbeak. 



While these birds are rare in Los Angeles, being occa- 

 sionally seen in the fall in the nearby mountains and 

 sometimes straying into the valleys, farther north small 

 flocks of them spend the winter in the lowlands, even 

 going into large cities and being very tame. They are 

 very fond of the winged-seeds of the maple, which they 

 crack and feast upon at the very feet of the passers-by. 



Mrs. Bailey tells of watching one of these Grosbeaks 

 in northern California which was most conspicuous as 

 it flew in the open, but was obliterated when it lighted 

 upon a dead stub whose branches were touched with 

 yellow lichen. The peculiar greenish yellow of the bird 

 toned in perfectly with the similar shade of the lichen. 

 "The breeding range of the Grosbeak is largely coin- 

 cident with the range of the lichen, the lichen being a 

 striking feature of the forests of the Sierra Nevada, 

 Cascades, and the northern Rockies, so that the unusual 

 coloration of the bird may be of marked significance." 



Dawson says that these birds are most abundant in 

 Washington in winter and early spring when they flock 

 closely and visit city parks or wooded lawns. He gives 

 three sorts of notes as being plainly distinguishable: a^ 



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