307 
FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 
GENUS COCCOTHRAUSTES. 
Subgenus Hesperiphona. 
514a. Coccothraustes vespertinus montanus ( Bidgw .). 
Western Evening Grosbeak. 
Bill large, swollen, depth at base greater than length of hind toe with 
claw; wing long, pointed, more than five times as long as tarsus; tail 
short, emarginate; feet small and 
weak; tarsus little if any longer 
than culmen. Adult male: forehead 
and superciliary bright yellow ; 
crown, wings, and tail black, wings 
with large white patches; rest of 
upper parts olive, grading through 
yellowish green to yellow on rump; 
under parts greenish yellow, be¬ 
coming lemon yellow on under wing 
and tail coverts. Adult female : 
prevailing color yellowish or yellow¬ 
ish brown ; throat bordered by 
dusky; whitish patch on wings. 
Young*: similar to female, but duller 
and markings less defined. Male : 
length (skins), 6.70-7.30, wing 4.18- 
4.59, tail 2.50-2.87, bill .78-.S9, 
width of bill at base .^9-.60. Fe¬ 
male : length (skins),6.50-7.30, wing 
4, 10-4.40, tail 2.40-2.78, bill .74- 
83, width of bill at base, 51.-57. 
Distribution. — Breeds in Cana¬ 
dian and Hudsonian zones in western United States from the Plains to the 
Pacific, and south through mountains of northwestern Mexico. 
Nest. — 15 to 50 feet from the ground in the top of a conifer or thick 
willow, a comparatively flat, slight structure of small sticks, roots, and 
sometimes tree lichens lined with finer roots. Eggs : 3 or 4, clear green, 
blotched with pale brown. 
Food. — Insects, such as caterpillars; seeds, and the fruit or buds of mis¬ 
tletoe, hackberry, box elder, juniper, maple, ash, alder, and related 
species. 
In the Canadian zone forests after the nesting season you occa¬ 
sionally see a wandering flock of evening grosbeaks. Sometimes 
there will be only seven or eight in the flock, sometimes twenty five 
or more. Their commonest call, as they pass over or light in a fir top, 
is a short whistle that can always be recognized by its wild, free 
quality, but they have also a loud ‘ beady ’ note something like 
that of the waxwing. 
In the mountains of Arizona the grosbeaks breed in canyons and 
near water, Dr. Mearns says, afterwards descending to the oaks of 
the foothills with their young. 
In winter, grosbeaks are very common in Portland, Oregon, where 
Mr. Anthony says large flocks feed in the maples, picking up the 
fallen seeds at the feet of passers-by. 
From Biological Survey, U. S. Dept, of 
Agriculture. 
Fig. 393. 
