The California Evening Grosbeak 



Taken in Mono County 



Photo by the Author 



NESTING HAUNT OF WESTERN EVENING GROSBEAK 

 X SHOWS LOCATION OF NEST, RlSS/4-22 M. C. O. 



Three sorts of notes are plainly distinguishable: a low murmuring of 

 pure tones, quite pleasant to the ear; a harsh but subdued rattle, or 

 alarm note, wzzzt or wzzzp, familiarly similar to that of the Crossbill; 

 and the high-pitched shriek, which distinguishes the bird from all others, 

 dimp. A little attention brings to light the fact that all the birds in the 

 flock bring out this astonishing note at precisely the same pitch. Once 

 distinguished, this note will serve again and again to draw attention to 

 this uncanny fowl, as it passes overhead or loses itself in the bosom of 

 some giant conifer. 



If a student runs through the brief published annals of this bird, he 

 will be surprised to see how much of its history has been written in or 

 near the cities. The earliest California account, that of Dr. Cooper, 

 hails from Santa Cruz. 1 Another observer, a Mr. W. L. Tiffany, describes, 

 in 1878, the repeated appearance of the birds in the city of Minneapolis. 

 For myself, I have seen more Evening Grosbeaks within the city limits 

 of Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane than in all the country besides. Just 

 why these birds should be especially attracted to the centers of popula- 

 tion, it is hard to say. Perhaps they love the stir and uproar of urban 



1 Geol. Surv. of Cal., Ornithology, p. 17s (1S70). 



142 



