222 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



Coccothraustes vespertina Sw. ii Rich. F. B. A. ii, 1831,209, pi. 08.— Auc. Syuop. 183'J.i;M; 



B. Am. iii.l841.217,pl. 207. 

 Besperiphona vespertina Bonap. 1850.— Baikd,B. N. Am. IK-W, 409; Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, 



No. 302.— CouBS, Key. 1872, 127; Check List,1873,No. KiO; 2d ed. 1882, No. 189; B. N. W. 



1874.105.— B. B. & B. Hist. N. Am. B. i. 1875, 449. pi. 22. Ug. 1.— Rmow. Norn. N. Am. B. 



1881. No. 165. 



Hab. Wostern North American, south, in mountain districts, to elevated regions of 

 eastern Mexico; north to the Saskatchewan, and east, especially in winter, to the Great 

 Lakes; accidental in northern Atlantic States (New York, Ohio, etc.). 



"Sp. Char. Bill yellowish green, dusky at the base. Anterior half of the body dusky 

 yellowish olive. shading into yellow to the rumpabove.and the under tail-coverts below. 

 Outer scapulars. a broad frontal band continued on each side over the eye.axillaries, and 

 middle of under wing-coverts yellow. Feathers along the extreme base of the bill, the 

 crown, tibiie. wings, upper tail-coverts, and tail black; Inner greater wing-coverts and 

 tertiaries white. Length. 7.30; wing. 4.30; tail. 2.75. 



"The female differs in having the head of a dull olivaceous brown, which color also 

 glosses the back. The yellow of the rump and other parts is replaced by a yellowish ash. 

 The upper tail-coverts are spotted with white. The white of the wing is much restricted. 

 There is an obscure blackish line on each side of the chin." (/7is(. N. Am. B.) 



Young male, nearly aduli. Generally similar to adult male, but tertials having inner 

 webs entirely dusky and grayish, the lower webs grayish next the shaft; inner greater 

 coverts pale yellow; deeper on edges; upper tail-coverts tipped with dingy yellow, and 

 inner webs of tail-feathers indistinctly tipped with grayish, passing into whitish termi- 

 nally. Back and jugulum mixed with feathers ol an oUvaoeous yellow. (Male, Santa 

 Cruz. Cal., March, 1S76; Coll. E. W. Nelson.) 



This beautiful bird is a winter visitant to the more northern por- 

 tions of the State, its appearance being, however, very irregular, 

 as is that of the Bohemian Wax-wing {Ampelis garrulus). Mr. Nelson 

 says that it is "a winter visitant occuring at irregular intervals. 

 The winter of 1871 they were quite common throughout the northern 

 portion of the State. The follo\ving winter they were much rarer, 

 and since then but very few have been seen. I am told that formerly 

 it was fo much more regular occurrence." (Bull. Essex Inst., Vol. 

 VIII., 1876, p. 104.) 



The most southern record for this State appears to be that by 

 Mr. 0. P. Hay, in the "Nuttall BuUetin" for July, 1881, page 179, 

 which reads as follows : 



"The Evening Grosbeak has for its habitat the region extending 

 from the Plains to the Pacific Ocean, and from Mexico into British 

 America. Toward the north it ranges further to the east; so that, 

 Wilde it appears to be not uncommon about Lake Superior, it has 

 been reported as occurring in Ohio, New York, and Canada. In Ilh- 

 nois it was observed at Freeport during the winter of 1870-71 ; and 

 at Waukegan during January, 1873. {Hist. N. A. Birds by Baird, 

 Brewer, and Eidgway.) Mr. Eobt. Eidgway in his recently issued 

 'Catalogue of the Birds of Illinois,' states that it is 'a winter visi- 

 tant to the extreme northern counties of the State'. 



