Evening Grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina)

Evening Grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina (W. Cooper, 1825))

Scientific name: Hesperiphona vespertina (W. Cooper, 1825)
Common name: Evening Grosbeak
Other names: Old scientific name: Coccothraustes vespertinus.
French name: Gros-bec errant
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Size: Body size: 18.5 to 20 cm; Weight: 53 to 74 g; Wingspan: 30 to 36 cm.
Habitat: Coniferous forests but also mixed forests, semi-open areas in winter.
Food: Small fruits, seeds and sap, but also larvae and insects.
Nesting: The nest is a cup of twigs lined with moss, grasses and other fibres. It is located between 6 and 12 meters high in a coniferous or deciduous tree, on a horizontal branch or in a fork. There is a clutch of 3 to 4 eggs between May and August.
Migration: Partially and irregularly migratory, northern birds move to the south of the United States in varying numbers depending on the year.
Geographic area: Forests of Canada, north-western United States and Rocky Mountains south to Mexico.

The Evening Grosbeak has a large, conical, light-coloured bill. The tail is short and black.
Males have a bright yellow body and forehead which contrasts with the rest of the brown head.
The wings are black with a large white patch.
Females are olive brown in colour with greyer underparts. The wings are black with white spots.