The evening grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina) is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae found in North America.

The evening grosbeak is bulky, with a large bill and short tail. The bird has a distinct appearance, with the adult male featuring a bright yellow forehead and body, brown head, and white wing patches, while the adult female has a mainly olive-brown body with greyer underparts and white wing patches.

The evening grosbeak breeds in coniferous and mixed forests across Canada, the western mountainous areas of the United States, and Mexico. Its migration pattern is variable, sometimes reaching as far south as the southern U.S. in winters. These birds forage in trees and bushes, and their diet mainly consists of seeds, berries, and insects. The bird's range has expanded eastward in historical times, likely due to the planting of Manitoba maples and other shrubs near farms and the availability of bird feeders during winter.

Taxonomy

The evening grosbeak was formally described in 1825 by the American naturalist William Cooper and given the binomial name Fringilla vespertina. Cooper had been sent a specimen by the ethnologist Henry Schoolcraft that had been collected in the evening near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Cooper recorded the name of the bird in the Ojibwe language as "Paushkundamo".

The IOC checklist and the Handbook of the Birds of the World place the evening grosbeak and the closely related hooded grosbeak in the genus Hesperiphona. However, the Clements Checklist and the AOS checklist place the evening and hooded grosbeaks in the genus Coccothraustes with the hawfinch.

The genus Hesperiphona was introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850.

Three subspecies are recognised:

  • Evening Grosbeak - Coccothraustes vespertinus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter