Coccothraustes vespertinus

A large (20-cm-long), robust finch with a large thick bill (pale yellow or greenish in spring and summer, whitish in fall and winter), black tail, black wings with white patch on inner wing, and yellow wing linings; adult male has yellow forehead and eyebrow, and dark brown and yellow body; female is grayish-tan, with a thin dark whisker stripe, white-tipped tail, and a conspicuous (in flight) second white patch on the primaries; juvenile has a brown bill, with each sex resembling the adult of the same sex (though juvenile male is significantly duller than adult male); loud call, "clee-ip" or "peeer" (NGS 1983).

Coniferous (primarily spruce and fir) and mixed coniferous- decidouous woodland, second growth, and occasionally parks; in migration and winter in a variety of forest and woodland habitats, and around human habitation (AOU 1983).

Nests usually nests in dense foliage of deciduous tree or conifer, 2-21 m above ground (Terres 1980). See Bekoff et al. (1987) for nest-site characteristics in Colorado.

Gregarious. Travels and forages in flocks througout much of the year.

In Colorado, most nest are initiated in late May or early June (Scott and Bekoff 1991). Clutch size 2-5 (usually 3-4). Incubation about 12-14 days, by female (male provides most of female's food during incubation). Young tended by both adults, leave nest at 13-14 days (Terres 1980, Bekoff et al. 1987, Scott and Bekoff 1991). Typically monogamous in Colorado (Scott and Bekoff 1991).