the evening grosbeak (hesperiphona vespertina) is a passerine bird in the finch family fringillidae found in north america .
the evening grosbeak is similar in appearance to the eurasian hawfinch , both being bulky , heavily built finches with large bills and short tails .
the evening grosbeak ranges in length from 16 to 22 cm (6.3 to 8.7 in) and spans 30 to 36 cm (12 to 14 in) across the wings .
in a large sampling of grosbeaks in pennsylvania during winter , males weighed from 38.7 to 86.1 g (1.37 to 3.04 oz), with an average of 60 g (2.1 oz), while females weighed from 43.2 to 73.5 g (1.52 to 2.59 oz), with an average of 58.7 g (2.07 oz) .
among standard measurements , the wing chord is 10.45 to 11.6 cm (4.11 to 4.57 in), the tail is 6 to 6.95 cm (2.36 to 2.74 in), the bill is 1.6 to 2 cm (0.63 to 0.79 in) and the tarsus is 1.95 to 2.2 cm (0.77 to 0.87 in) .
the adult has a short black tail , black wings and a large pale bill .
the adult male has a bright yellow forehead and body; its head is brown and there is a large white patch in the wing .
the adult female is mainly olive-brown , greyer on the underparts and with white patches in the wings .
the breeding habitat is coniferous and mixed forest across canada and the western mountainous areas of the united states and mexico .
it is an extremely rare vagrant to the british isles , with just two records so far .
the nest is built on a horizontal branch or in a fork of a tree .
the migration of this bird is variable; in some winters , it may wander as far south as the southern u .
s .
these birds forage in trees and bushes , sometimes on the ground .
they mainly eat seeds , berries , and insects .
outside of the nesting season they often feed in flocks .
sometimes , they will swallow fine gravel .
the range of this bird has expanded far to the east in historical times , possibly due to plantings of manitoba maples and other maples and shrubs around farms and the availability of bird feeders in winter .
the international ornithologists' union places the evening grosbeak in the genus hesperiphona .
the species together with the hooded grosbeak are sometimes placed together with the hawfinch in the genus coccothraustes .
the name of the genus hesperiphona was introduced by charles lucien bonaparte in 1850.the genus name is from ancient greek hesperos , "evening", and phone "cry", and the specific vespertina is latin for "evening" .
