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YELLOW OR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS 523 
514a. WESTERN EVENING GROSBEAK. — Cocco- 
thraustes vespertinus montanus. 
Famity: The Finches, Sparrows, etc. 
Length: Male 6.70-7.30 ; female 6.50-7.30. 
Bill; Large and heavy. 
Adult Male: Upper parts yellowish olive, shading to yellow on rump ; 
forehead and superciliary bright yellow; crown, tail, and wings 
black, the latter with large white patches; under parts greenish 
yellow, shading to lemon-yellow on under wing and tail-coverts. 
Adult Female: General plumage yellowish or yellowish brown ; throat 
bordered on each side by a dusky streak ; whitish patches on wings ; 
under parts light gray. 
Young: Similar to female, but color duller and more brownish, with 
markings less sharply defined. 
Geographical Distribution: Western North America, from the Pacific 
coast eastward to the Rocky Mountains; south to Mexico. 
California Breeding Range: Local in the high Sierra Nevada from Mt. 
Shasta to the Yosemite valley. 
Breeding Season: May 1 to June 15. 
Nest: A comparatively slight structure ; composed of small sticks, roots, 
and sometimes lichens ; lined with finer roots ; placed in coniferous 
or willow trees, from 12 to 50 feet from the ground. 
Eggs: 3 or 4; green, blotched with light brown. 
LineD against the dark green of the pine tree in the 
golden glow of sunset, as he settles for his night’s rest, 
the Evening Grosbeak is a bird of striking beauty. 
Seen flying across the open when the first rays of the 
rising sun flash on the yellow of his breast, brightening 
and deepening its pale lemon to a color like gold, while 
his clear whistle calls through the dewy air, he is a joy 
forever. Daintily eating the maple buds or the young 
shoots of the juniper tree, stopping ever and anon to pipe 
his wild, free song that has in it the breath of the pine 
