EVENING GROSBEAK. 
137 
with greenish ; the back, rump, with the whole lateral 
and inferior surface, including the under wing and 
under tail-coverts, yellow, purer on the rump, and some- 
what tinged with olive-brown on the belly. Although 
these colours are all very pure, they are not definitely 
separated, but pass very insensibly into each other; 
thus the black of the crown passes into the dark brown 
of the neck, which, becoming lighter by degrees, is 
blended with the yellow of the back. The same thing 
takes place beneath, where the olive-brown of the breast 
passes by the nicest gradations into the yellow of the 
posterior parts ; the whole base of the plumage is pale 
bluish plumbeous, white before the tips of the feathers ; 
the femorals are black, skirted with yellow ; the wings 
are four and a half inches long ; the smaller, middling, 
and exterior larger wing-coverts are deep black, as well 
as the spurious wing ; those nearest the body are white, 
black at the origin only ; the quills are deep black, the 
three outer being subequal and longest, attenuated on 
their outer web at the point, and inconspicuously 
tipped with whitish ; the secondaries are marked with 
white on their inner web, that colour extending more 
and more as they approach the body, the four or five 
nearest being entirely pure white, like their immediate 
coverts, and slightly and inconspicuously edged with 
yellow externally; the tail is two and a half inches 
long, slightly forked, and, as well as its long superior 
coverts, very deep black; the outer feather on each 
side has, on the inner vane, towards the tip, a large, 
roundish, white spot, which seems disposed to become 
obliterated, as it is much more marked on one, than on 
that of the other side which corresponds to it, and does 
not exist in all specimens ; a similar spot is perceptible 
on the second tail-feather, where it is, however, nearly 
obliterated ; the feet are flesh colour, the nails blackish, 
the tarsus measuring three quarters of an inch. 
No difference of any consequence is observable 
between the sexes ; though it might be said that the 
female is a little less in size, and rather duller in 
plumage. 
