I. 



THE EVENING GV.O^^¥..\K.—Hesperipho?ia vespertma, Bonap. 

 [Plate I and Frontispiece.] 



Among the rarities in the cabinet of most ornithological collectors 

 is the Evening Grosbeak, which excites interest as much by its com- 

 parative rarity and exceeding capriciousness in distribution as on ac- 

 count of its odd note and eccentric behavior. First found by Mr. 

 Schoolcraft, in 1823, near Sault St. Marie, in Michigan, it was de- 

 scribed by Cooper. The indefatigable naturalist, Sir John Richard- 

 son, encountered it upon the Saskatchewan, where seems to be its nat- 

 ural home, and from whence it issues forth, guided by any whim, and 

 wanders far to the East and South, though seeming to avoid the coast. 

 The genus is Asiatic and our two species are obviously derived from 

 the Old World, via Alaska. In Europe there is a closely allied genus 

 Coccothraustes, which differs in the shape of the secondary wing feath- 

 ers. The genus is distinguished from all other finches of the United 

 States by the very large beak and the following points : 



" Feet short ; tarsus less than the middle toe ; lateral toes nearly equal, and 

 reaching to the base of the middle claw. Claws much curved, stout, compressed. 

 Wings very long and pointed, reaching beyond the middle of the tail. Primaries 

 much longer than the nearly equal secondaries and tertials ; outer two quills long- 

 est ; the others rapidly graduated. Tail slightly forked ; scarcely more than two 

 thirds the length of the wings, its coverts covering nearly three-fourths of its 

 extent. " — Baird. 



[In America we have the two species, H. vespertina (with its two 

 varieties), and H. abeillii, Scl., which lives in the mountainous ])or- 

 tions of Mexico, southward.] 



In very few places in the United States does this bird appear with 

 sufficient constancy to be set down as more than an accidental visitor. 

 In this respect Minneapolis, Minn., is particularly favored for, during 

 a number of years, these grosbeaks have rarely failed to make a longer 

 or shorter winter visit, sometimes coming early in the Autumn and re- 

 maining until the trees are in full leaf, when, in a few cases, their much 



