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I. 
THE EVENING GROSBEAK — Hesperiphona vespertina, 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 II. abeillii , Scl., which lives in the mountainous por- 
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 
