FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
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Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
The term 'Grosbeak' comes from the French word 'Gros-bec,' which means 'big beak.' It got its name from the fact that it was believed to sing only at dusk when it was first discovered. Evening Grosbeaks are a small finch with a tiny head, a short, powerful conical bill with long wings, and a short tail. During the winter, they travel in large flocks around suburban areas, searching for bird feeders and other resources, but once the breeding season arrives, they split into small groups or pairs. Throughout the year, these birds are not aggressive to one another, but during the winter, territorial fighting may occur for food sources. These birds are less antagonistic during the breeding season. These birds are featured on the cover page of the 2016 Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plan, as it has experienced the steepest population decline of 92% since 1970 in the continental United States and Canada.
After learning about the Evening Grosbeak facts, you might also be interested in reading about the blue grosbeak and the keel-billed toucan.
The Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus) is one among the 4000 species of Passerine bird or songbirds.
The Evening Grosbeak belongs to the Aves class with stout conical bills and colorful plumage.
As per The Cornell Lab Of Ornithology, there are 4.1 million breeding birds globally, with most of them habited in North America.
Evening Grosbeaks preferred breeding habitats in coniferous and mixed forests of Canada and western mountain regions of the United States and Mexico. They typically prefer to nest in higher-elevation trees and shrubs.
Evening Grosbeaks are found in the coniferous, as well as deciduous forest, but usually prefer to reside in the mountains. They build their nests on horizontal branches or in vertical forks of trees, often far from the trunk. The height varies, but it is usually 20-60' above ground and can reach 10-100'. Usually, females construct a cup-shaped nest from twigs lined with fine grass, moss, pine needles, and rootlets. They can also be a backyard feeder, but these North American birds generally nest in varied pine trees and large shrubs of their native.
The Evening Grosbeak, like other similar species, is a social bird often found in flocks. These flocks provide protection and are less vulnerable to predators, especially when in migration.
These birds have been observed to live in the wild for up to 16 years.
Evening Grosbeaks often form monogamous pairs. Their courtship is quiet and without song, but an adult male dances for the female by raising his head and tail, drooping and vibrating his wings, and swiveling back and forth. Females and males alternately bow at each other is another courtship ritual. After mating, the female bird lays between zero and five eggs, which they hatch for about 12-14 days. While the females are on the nest, the males feed them. After hatching, the nestlings remain in the nest for another 13-15 days. Those birds will stay near their nests for another two to five days, being fed by their parents. It is not unique for a breeding pair to have two broods in a single breeding season.
The global conservation status of these birds has recently changed from Least Concern to Vulnerable as their primary food sources are being harmed. These birds prey mostly spruce budworms; controlling spruce budworm has been a vital forestry goal with extensive pesticides as this worm is a parasite in many pulpwood forests and harms the trees. They also found consuming budworm larvae and pupae. They also eat a lot of maples and, in particular, box elders' seeds. In recent decades, forest management has prioritized fast-growing softwood trees for paper and wood products over slower-growing hardwoods like maple and box elder. Due to a decrease in their resources, the population of these species found declining.
Evening Grosbeaks are medium-sized songbirds. Male Evening Grosbeaks are more colorful than females, and they are sexually dimorphic. The adult male has dark brown heads, bright yellow bellies and backs, black wings with white wing patches, and short black tails. They also have a bright-yellow stripe over the eye, similar to a headlamp. Female birds are primarily gray, with white-and-black wings and neck and flanks are slightly greenish-yellow. Adult males have a pale ivory bill, while females have a greenish-yellow bill.
Evening grosbeaks with bright and colorful plumage are generally adored by bird watchers. With the Project Feeder Watch of Cornell Lab of Ornithology, you can watch and listen to these birds in nature.
These birds have a vocal organ called the syrinx, which can create a wide range of beautiful singing sounds. The Evening Grosbeak call is generally sharp, sweet, and burry screeches.
The Evening Grosbeak body length ranges from 6.3-8.7 in (16-22 cm) and a wingspan of 12-14 in (30-36 cm). This bird is approximately the size of a Northern Cardinal, but more compact and thicker-bodied; smaller than a Steller's Jay or Blue Jay.
The Evening Grosbeak's flight speed is unknown; however, because they are similar in size, they may also fly at 20-36 mph like a Robin.
The weight of Evening Grosbeak ranges from 1.9-2.6 oz (53-74 g).
As there is no specific terminology to distinguish between a male and a female, they are commonly referred to as a male bird and a female bird.
Like other similar species, it is referred to as a nestling as it is not yet mature enough to care for itself. While the young bird develops most of its flight feathers, it is later referred to as a fledgling. Afterward, it is referred to as a juvenile bird with passing most youth stages but still not a mature adult.
In summer, Evening Grosbeaks mostly prey on insects like box elders, spruce budworm, and few invertebrates. During winter Evening Grosbeaks love to eat sunflower seeds and a wide range of seeds, berries, small fruits, and buds from trees and shrubs. These North American birds are also found eating the buds of maple and drink maple sap by tearing off small maple twigs. Their thick conical bill helps them to open and split seeds easily. You can attract these Evening Grosbeaks by putting some sunflower seeds in the feeder in winter.
Evening Grosbeaks, like other birds, are generally highly intelligent and fun companions. They have no negative effects on humans.
Evening Grosbeaks, like other similar species, prefer to live in flocks. These birds make excellent companions since they enjoy playing, giggling, and eating with their owners.
Evening Grosbeaks eat a lot of spruce budworm. Many pulpwood forest stands are infected by this worm, which can be harmful to the trees. These birds are so good at spotting these tiny caterpillars that they are always the first to notice when a spruce budworm outbreak starts.
Even though they are songbirds, Evening Grosbeaks do not sing. Only on rare occasions do they make quick, irregular warbles. The Evening Grosbeak song is usually shorter and whistled. Flight calls are the primary communication calls used by these birds to maintain flock balance. Evening grosbeaks make a sound 'chee-er' in a simple tone that starts at a high frequency, gradually rises in pitch, and quickly descends. Other calls include sounds like 'tee-er', 'peeer', 'keeer', 'clee-ip', 'p-teeee', and 'p-teer'.
Evening Grosbeaks migrate irregularly. These North American birds migrate in the fall and spend the winter far south when seed crops in Northern coniferous forests are low. Migrations in the Eastern United States are observed to be in every two to three years, but they have become less common since 1980. For the winter, western subspecies migrate towards lower altitudes. If you find one in your backyard during the migration feed them with a variety of seeds or berries.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including secretary bird, or common kingfisher.
You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our evening grosbeak coloring pages.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Evening_Grosbeak/overview
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/evening-grosbeak
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/evening_grosbeak
https://abcbirds.org/bird/evening-grosbeak/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/evening-grosbeak
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Evening_Grosbeak/id
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Evening_Grosbeak/lifehistory
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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