YELLOW OR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS 523 



514 a. WESTERN EVENING GROSBEAK. — Hesper- 

 iphona vespertina montana.; 



Family : 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 denned. 

 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. 

 3 or i ; 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 



