In 1987, when Project FeederWatch began, Evening Grosbeaks were among the most common birds at birdfeeders during the Northeast winter. Now they're completely absent in many of those same areas. In the West, too, they're showing up in reduced numbers. Why have so many Evening Grosbeaks
Beaks suited for opening tough, hard seeds—thick, conical beaks—evolved in more than one lineage of birds. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are related to cardinals, which also have powerful beaks. Evening Grosbeaks belong to the finch family, which includes goldfinches and crossbills—an entire
September 2007 - The last 40 years have witnessed the dramatic decline of many common American birds, including Boreal Chickadees, like this one. New York Times essayist Verlyn Klinkenborg writes, "...we seem determined to discover whether we can live alone on earth. Harvard biologist, E.O
Seattle resident and renowned author Ivan Doig reflected on a world without birds in his book-length meditation, Winter Brothers (available in the BirdNote store). "A birdless world, the air permanently fallow, is unthinkable. To be without birds would be to suffer a kind of color
Black-headed Grosbeaks and Evening Grosbeaks belong to entirely different families of birds. Both groups evolved oversized bills for opening tough seeds. The Black-headed Grosbeak is closely related to the cardinal, while the Evening Grosbeak is close kin to the goldfinch. The common name
